Suicide
by PrincessFerdinand
Summary: The end of New Moon, Alice's POV. "Bella cut me off before I was done, her eyes wide, expression pleading. Yes, she had better plead. I was good and mad now, and she better have more than a few good reasons for doing what she had done."
1. Vision

"Do you want to go hunting?" Jasper's quiet voice broke through the silence in our room, in the whole house. I had been sifting silently through the future, growing more melancholy with every passing second as nothing promising was showing up. His face was very calm and smooth - too calm. I knew what that meant.

Jasper asked to go hunting whenever everyone else's feelings were just too heavy for him to deal with - which was to say, about every thirty-six hours or so since the birthday party. My eyes had never been so light.

"Of course," I answered, rising gracefully from the bed and taking his hand.

Today was like any other day since the day we left Forks. Edward, I could see, was who knows where, staring blankly at nothing in some house he had broken into, hands clasped tightly over knees brought up to his chest. Esme was here in Tanya's house, downstairs, also staring at nothing, Carlisle comforting her silently but grieving as well. Even Rosalie was upset, scowling blackly most of the time.

I didn't know why we even came to Denali - it wasn't like Tanya or her family was helping us recover from the double loss of both Edward and Bella, and, in the few days since we'd been here, Jasper had already noticed the Denalis once-happy emotional climate slowly deteriorate.

Because of all the anguish, Jasper hated it at the house. I didn't like it either - the depressing atmosphere was bad enough, but it was made all the worse because I couldn't see a break from it in the near future. He wanted to spend as much time as possible away from it, and I was only too happy to comply.

The sun was shining weakly through the clouds, and our skin was sparkling dully as we ran. The sparkling was like all of our actions since September - halfhearted and tepid.

Then I caught the scent of the animal - a bear, it sounded like, lumbering slowly through the underbrush. The footsteps stopped, a snuffling noise starting.

I stalked the bear, weaving silently through the underbrush. Jasper was at my side, his hand still clasped tightly in mine. The bear was in a small clearing, pawing at a bush.

I prepared to pounce on it, crouching into a position that would allow me to spring, catching it completely off guard. Then, just as I was about to jump onto its back, I saw it.

It was a vision.

They were always in my head, of course, random flickers of other people's business that I rarely paid attention to - I didn't have an interest in what that man was doing for his fortieth wedding anniversary, or what the weather would be like in Taiwan next Thursday at noon. But this one came to the center of my brain, and stronger than usual, which meant that it was either something I was concentrating on, which wasn't the case, or it was someone or something that I was already very attuned to. Years of watching out for my family had made visions regarding them come straight to the center of my mind.

So that would mean, I thought as the vision focused, that it was my family, and I suddenly felt a stab of fear. Jasper tensed at my side, but I ignored him. Was it Edward? Had something happened? Or was it Esme, had she finally snapped, or - or -

Or Bella. I recognized her figure with a wave of shock, the human who I had seen join our family but never would. According to Edward, anyway. I knew, of course, that he wouldn't be able to stay away for too awfully long, but so far he had surprised me. I was sad, of course, and grieved just as much as Esme, but there was nothing I could do; I agreed wholeheartedly that we weren't any good for Bella, but I didn't agree that we should leave. Anyone could see she loved Edward so much that this separation would hurt her for longer than Edward could have stood. I would have - tried to - tell him that right from the start, but he wouldn't listen to me.

And then there was the fact that without my foolishness in forcing Bella to have the party, none of this would ever have happened.

I had felt more than a little guilty about it afterward. I had, after all, pushed her into a huge extravaganza. If I hadn't done it, she would never have given herself the paper cut, and right now we would still be happily living in Forks. I would have, of course, warned Edward about it, had I seen it coming, but I hadn't seen it until a few seconds before it happened.

Jasper knew that I had struggled with the guilt - and not only guilt, but anger at Edward, pain at the loss of Bella, and fear for what might happen if Edward didn't come to his sense soon - for a long time, and every time Jasper felt the emotions creeping back, he would force them to retreat. In the beginning that had been relief, but after time I just wanted to feel - I wanted to feel guilty like I knew I should. Finally, I had lost my temper one night and shouted at him - I had apologized, of course, but he had never tampered with my feelings since.

Now, watching Bella on the cliff, the promise I had made to Edward began prickling at my conscience, but not for long. What I had promised, after all, was to not interfere, and to not be looking for her future. He had said nothing - and I had therefore promised nothing - about what came to me automatically. And besides, I couldn't just leave off the vision now. I had to know what happened, didn't I?

The vision of Bella, the one happening now, was fuzzy around the edges at first, but became clearer as I concentrated on it. She was standing on what appeared to be a cliff, a rocky outcropping whose drop seemed to consist of maybe a hundred feet. The ocean was broiling beneath her, and crashing against the rocks with such ferocity that it was obvious a storm was brewing - to further prove this theory, the sky was a funny color; gray clouds that had an eerie greenish tint that looked like a layer of cotton covered the sky.

I wondered where Bella was, a place that I didn't recognize, but I realized it almost immediately; the only place that was easily accessible to Bella that I hadn't gone was La Push; that was where she must be.

I was so distracted by the vision that I forgot to pounce on the unfortunate bear; Jasper's curiosity grew more pronounced, but still I ignored him, too engrossed with what was going on. A split second later, though, he realized what was going on, and relaxed. He knew the only thing to do was wait. I would tell him what I had seen when I was ready.

Bella was standing lightly on the edge of the cliff, an inch or two from the edge. Her expression was somber, but yet strangely content. There were bags under her eyes, like she hadn't been sleeping well, and she'd lost weight. It made her look too skinny, as she'd already been thin. She leaned forward slightly, onto the balls of her feet, and I realized what she was about to do, a millisecond before it happened. Her eyes were closed, and she smiled slightly, like she was listening to something pleasant. I heard my sharp gasp vaguely in the background; I saw, also, Jasper's patience dissolve into concern. But I was too absorbed in what was happening to pay much attention.

As I had feared, she jumped, throwing herself off the cliff. I heard her scream as she fell - it echoed eerily in my mind. That was one of the oddest parts of seeing visions - the sounds no one else could hear.

Her form went spiraling through the air until she hit the water feet first with a splash. _Please come up, please come up, _I begged silently to myself, but I knew that this wasn't that kind of jump. She didn't _want _to come up. Still, though, I watched the water, still boiling angrily, for her head to come bobbing up. But it didn't. I watched for two minutes, knowing that I was already pushing it for a normal human breath. She didn't surface. For three more minutes I continued to scan the water, but I knew that it was in vain.

Bella was dead. Bella had committed suicide. Bella was dead. Bella had committed suicide. The words kept echoing in my head, which was suddenly, for however brief a moment, devoid of all visions in my shock. I slowly opened my eyes, unwilling to face reality, and found myself looking into Jasper's anxious face.

"Alice? What did you see?"

I just shook my head slowly.

Bella was dead. I could barely grasp the concept. The wave of grief swept over me with such force that I felt myself sink sinuously to the ground. Jasper felt it as it crashed through my system, and immediately he was working to ease some of its burden, ignoring how much it annoyed me. I didn't try to stop him - I didn't want to feel this much pain. Yet, anyway.

Through the grief, which was like a thick blanket, smothering my logic and muffling all reasonable thought, I was angry. Angry at Edward, for leaving Bella in the first place. It was cruel, to stay for so long, to let her get used to him, to make promises he would break in the end, and then to leave. I knew that if Jasper left, if I thought that he no longer loved me, life would become unbearable. After a time, I, too, would probably find some way to end the hell my life would be. I doubted I would even be able to survive for as long as Bella had. So I could definitely identify with Bella's actions. But that didn't stop me from being angry at her too. It was so irresponsible! How could she have done that, have knowingly left Charlie and her mother, all her friends in Forks? Or us, too, for that matter. Especially Edward. Then, as I thought his name, I realized what he would do - how he would react. We couldn't tell him, but we didn't have a choice. If we didn't tell him voluntary, he would hear it in our thoughts sooner or later. We could not keep this from him forever, especially when he finally broke down, went home, and found her gone. His grief would be incomparable, inconsolable. He would be broken, devastated, overcome by the death of his soul mate. He would never be the same again.

Immediately, plans started forming in my mind. Though I knew we could not keep it from him forever, we could keep it for awhile. At least until he checked in again. It shouldn't be for a couple months, it had only been a few weeks since the last time.

I also realized that I must go. Break my promise, and go back to Forks. See what I could do for Charlie and the rest of the town. I couldn't just stay here, considering the fact that it was us leaving that brought her to suicide.

"Alice!" Jasper, very concerned now, shook my shoulder sharply, breaking through my thought processes. I opened my eyes slowly. "Alice, what is it? What did you see? Is everybody all right? Is Edward…"

"No," I murmured slowly. Jasper's eyes became wide with fright. "It is one of our family, but not Edward - thought it soon will be," I tried to explain, my thoughts still whirling out of control. This didn't help Jasper much. His impatience and panic became worse as he shook my shoulder again.

"Alice! Tell me now! Stop your riddles and _tell me what happened_!"

"It's - it's Bella," I admitted, and immediately Jasper's eyes narrowed.

"Alice, whatever's she's done, you can't interfere. You promised. She'll be all right. It won't help her to have you visiting her."

"No, she won't be all right!" I countered. "You don't understand! She committed suicide, Jasper! She jumped off a cliff! I have to go back, have to help Charlie!"

Jasper's expression became one of painful anguish; he, too, had cared for Bella. Then it smoothed, though I could still see the pain in his eyes.

"You still can't go back, Alice. Charlie will be fine without you. You promised everybody that you wouldn't interfere. Besides, do you really think it would help Charlie to see the reason why his daughter killed herself?"

I blanched at the harsh words. "No, it wouldn't _help _him, Jasper, but we can't just let him suffer alone! We need to show him that we do care about Bella, even though we were the cause of her death. We need to tell him we're sorry, even though that won't change anything."

Jasper was shaking his head before I was even finished. "Alice, believe me - going to Charlie would be the opposite of helpful to him. I know how human emotions work, Alice, and it would just make it worse for him. Just keep your promise to Edward, and stay here."

I thought through his argument for a moment, but it didn't convince me. I had to go, not just for Charlie's sake but for my own, I suddenly realized. I wanted to be at her funeral, even though it would hurt terribly.

"No, Jasper. I'm going."

He just shook his head.

"_No,_" I repeated more forcefully. "I'm speaking to Carlisle, and then I'm going." And before he could protest any more, I was off through the trees.

**I haven't decided yet whether this should be a oneshot or whether it should keep going. Review and tell me what you think, please!**


	2. Tanya

**Thanks to those who reviewed, saying I should continue! It was the most number of reviews I have EVER received on the first chapter.**

**Thanks also to ****Emiliana Keladry for pointing out my mistake. Because of that, I have rewritten the second chapter. This is it. So there's really nothing new, it still ends in the same spot.**

A few moments after I had left Jasper's side, I realized the fault in my logic. Carlisle was not here. He was gone, hunting with Esme on an extended trip.

So now, what was I to do? I needed to go _now_ – I couldn't wait for him to return. It would take too long to find them, they were hours away. I would tell him later – I would call him from Forks, if Jasper didn't fill him in first. So as I ran through the trees toward the house, my new goal was to tell Tanya – who knew when Jasper would return? Besides, it felt horribly irresponsible to just go –with no one really knowing where I was going besides Jasper. I needed to stop by the house.

It came into sight as I went bounding through the trees after just a few moments. It was like ours in Forks in many ways: both were very old, Victorian-style mansions, both three stories tall, and, though this similarity was new, both had a morbid history. In both houses, blood had been spilt.

Tanya's house was well over one hundred years old; it had been the house of some prosperous merchant in the gold rush, but the urban legends surrounding it were gloomy to say the least. At least two accountable murders had taken place here in the many times it had switched hands from then to now, and rumors claimed that dozens more had been staged. That, of course, was one of the reasons Tanya and her family had bought it - the ghost stories surrounding it had scared visitors away.

When I went bursting through the door, the bottom floor was deserted, as I had known it would be. Without hesitation, I dashed up the stairs towards Tanya's room, which wasn't a room so much as a library. Like so many other vampires, Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper included, she was a wealth of knowledge, devouring and poring over medieval texts where in some cases she knew had personally known the one who wrote it, philosophy, history that she had lived through – it bordered on obsession.

I knocked once, a sharp, staccato sound, and opened the door without waiting for a reply. Tanya sat at her desk, reading.

"Alice? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Bella, Tanya. Bella. She's killed herself."

Tanya's face was shocked, but pain wasn't there – at first. She, after all, had not known Bella, did not know how lovable she was. Then it did become agonized, but not for the reason mine was.

"Edward," she whispered, so quietly that even I could barely hear it.

I had already been there, but I tried to wait patiently as she took in the information I had presented her.

"By killed herself, you mean-" she choked off, her eyes wide and unbelieving. They were confused. For some reason, this angered me.

What other possible meaning could I have meant? Could I have said it any more plainly? A flare of impatience rippled through me. I wanted to be gone. I wanted to comfort Charlie. I wanted -

And then the obvious hit me with such obviousness that I felt stupid for not having realized it the moment I had seen the vision. If I left now, soon enough - _I could stop this from happening! _I could save Bella, stop her, and then, surely, Edward would see reason and come back to her. Hadn't it been her life he was worried about in the first place?

But then, the vision replayed itself in my mind and the sudden high came crashing back down around my ankles as I realized that I would be too late. This would happen soon, very soon. Hours at most. I would be too late. The grief crashed back down around me as I pulled myself out of my head and turned back to Carlisle, my voice trilling so fast I knew no human would be able to understand it.

"_Suicide_, Tanya, she's committed suicide. She jumped off the cliff in La Push, and I watched and watched, but she didn't come up. It's too late to save her, but I have to go back to Forks. I have to help Charlie, I just have to _be there_. Do you understand?"

Her expression, though still confused –probably because she didn't know who Charlie was – grew disapproving. She didn't understand this whole situation, all she knew was Edward loved Bella, and now Bella was gone. She could see the implications of this, and hurt her deeply – though her love for him was unreturned, it still festered and burned.

She looked back down at her book, and again the impatience surged. There was no time for reading! I had to begone! Of course, she wasn't reading, but even these moments of thought were moments wasted. It was made worse because my visions were clouded with her indecision.

I wondered absently why this was so urgent. I had already established that I couldn't stop this from happening. So why did I need to get there so quickly? The involuntary answer came upon me. I couldn't be idle, I couldn't stop moving, I had to have plans. If I didn't, if I had to long to think, the grief would surely become much worse than it was now. It was being kept at bay, abated, by the fervor of _going _somewhere, _doing _something.

"Tanya! I'm going, now. It doesn't matter what you say, I _am _going." I called his attention back to me with a jerk. She looked back up at me, biting down on her full lip, expression troubled.

"Alice…"

"Don't _Alice _me! I'll be back in a few days, 'kay?"

"Alice, Alice, I won't pretend I know how you feel, that I know why you feel you must go, but I can see that this won't help anything. It's been seven months, Alice. No one will take kindly to you being there. Her father, if that's who Charlie is, wouldn't appreciate it. Trust me on this one. I never went to the funerals of those I killed. I wasn't welcome there. You did kill her, Alice. Maybe not directly, but you did. You will not be welcomed. Stay here, _please_."

Why couldn't anyone see that this wasn't _just _about Charlie? It was as much for me as for him. I had to be with Bella. She had, for however short a time, become my best friend. I couldn't just ignore the fact that she had died, no matter that we hadn't talked for seven months.

"No." Tanya frowned, and I could see she wanted to debate this further with me, but I couldn't wait for that. Without waiting for another word, I bounded out the door. There would be clothes at our old house. Carlisle's car was in Forks, too, waiting in the garage. I would have to take it to show up at Bella's, but that detour would be a very minor one.

I ran to the airport. It probably would have been safer to take a car, but I would stay in the woods and pretend that I had parked in the parking garage. Besides, running was faster and I wanted desperately to take as little time as possible.

Still, the run seemed to take forever, mostly because I didn't have to concentrate. Almost immediately, I began to have second thoughts about going, but I didn't slow or turn around.

Would going to Forks really make things better for me? Or for anyone else, for that matter. Jasper and Tanya had been agreed that Charlie would not like to see me. And my own feelings would probably not like seeing Forks again, seeing Bella's house, remembering the times I had been there; our house, the times she had come visiting, the baseball field, the high school….so many memories that would flood upon me there! The nostalgia would be unbearable, probably. I knew that, were I to think about it for too long, I would turn around. What I was doing was wrong, for me, for Charlie, for Edward, for everyone involved. But I had to go.

To keep my resolution firm, I thought of other things.

Jasper. He would undoubtedly be hurt by my abrupt leave - I hadn't even said goodbye. I made a note to call him the second we were in the air. He probably would be upset with me, but I would make it up to him. How I wasn't quite sure.

As I neared the airport I scanned the future for the next available flight to Seattle. I was in luck, I could catch the one that was leaving in forty-five minutes with only a small amount of bribery.

Edward. He was another problem. I wondered how he would take the news when he, as he undoubtedly would, find out. Devastated, definitely. Inconsolable. Grief-stricken.

Carlisle. He probably would not like me doing this either, but I didn't care. I had to go. I would call him right after Jasper, though I doubted that he would answer. He rarely kept his phone on during hunting trips.

Then another thought crossed my mind, one so horribly terrifying that it must be true. Edward would become suicidal.

Edward. Would. Kill. Himself.

Bella. How could she do this to him? _She didn't know_, my mind told me desperately, but the anger flared up. I would lose Edward as a brother, I would lose Bella as a sister. She….there were no words to describe my sudden anger, only emotions, portrayed as I ripped a tree out of the ground as I passed and bashing it against another tree.

"_Well, I wasn't going to live without you_." Those words had been spoken by Edward. I had seen that. Of course, the words had been joking at the time - sort of. But I had no doubt in my mind now, how he would proceed, when he found out.

Death.

No.

No!

I could not - would not - lose him. We would stop him. Emmett could physically restrain him. I tried to reassure myself with that thought, but I knew it would not work for long. He would succeed.

No.

The airport flew by in a blur. I had to remind myself to walk at human velocity. I spoke to the clerk, bought my ticket at more than double the usual price, rushed on the plane moments before it began to take off. I was on my way. For better or for worse, I was on my way to Forks.

**I know that it really bugs me when other authors do this, but how far I go depends on the response I get. Please review! Even one-word reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**Besides, today's my birthday. I'm not even kidding. And it would be the COOLEST present ever if I got….um…..10 more reviews. **

**I'll try and update again soon, but chances are it won't be until after the New Year. Relatives are coming in the 20****th**** and aren't leaving till the 3****rd****, so I probably won't have much time to write in that time. But who knows?**


	3. Flight

**I was going to write Christmas, as there's only one chapter to go, but I really wasn't in the mood, so Chapter the Third was born. **

**Hooray! You guys met my goal! Thank you so much for the 10 wonderful reviews!**

**My goal for reviews for this whole story is 50. 32 reviews to go, for who-knows-how-many chapters! You can do it! **

The flight was a long one, and it was made no better by the thoughts that kept buzzing around in my head like a bird, pecking at my conscience and taking bites out of my resolve like it was fresh worms.

It was times like these when I was very glad my mind had more than one track. There was so much that I needed to do, and it all had to happen at once. I had to stay busy, very busy.

Part of my mind kept watch for Edward, his plans and how he was doing. I had been doing this almost constantly for the last seven months, but this time for a different reason - if he suddenly decided to come home, I needed to warn Carlisle.

Another part was watching Forks, specifically Charlie. I needed to see how he responded to the news, how quickly he made funeral plans. This was partly for my own curiosity, partly so I could plan how best to talk to him. He obviously wouldn't take kindly to me being there, as Jasper had pointed out. In the middle of all his grief, how would he react to seeing the cause of it?

So I needed to find out what the best introduction would be. But, as I searched my mind frantically for him, he was gone. Not there.

Oh, God. What had happened? Where was he? _Why couldn't I see him? _

Panic. Panic overtook every emotion, every action for a moment, even the calm façade my face had been, so that the person sitting next to me on the plane tapped my shoulder gently and asked, "Are you okay, ma'am?"

I ignored him, retreating further in my head while working to fix my expression. I searched through every vision dozens of times, looking, looking…and finding nothing. _Nothing_. What was happening to my visions? Where was Charlie?

I tried to abate my panic, regain some of my calm, while still searching. Trying to find a reason why I couldn't see Charlie. Edward was still in hiding. I could still see him. The future was not gone, if he was still there. My gift was still working.

Then, the solution came to me. A very weak idea, but it was better than nothing and it was the lifeline I needed to continue doing what I needed to do.

Edward couldn't hear Bella's thoughts. He didn't know why this was, of course, but he had said something about Charlie. That he could barely hear Charlie's thoughts, could just grasp the meaning and not individual words. Maybe the same thing was happening with Charlie, I tried to tell myself, but I knew that wasn't the reason. There were flaws. For one, I had always been able to see Charlie; why would I suddenly not be able to see him? And for another, Bella, who had always been harder to hear than Charlie, considering the fact that Edward couldn't hear her at all, I had always been able to see just fine. Except for now, of course, because she was dead.

But even though I knew that this wasn't the reason I could suddenly no longer see Charlie, I was able to come up with the necessary amount of calm to control myself. Because this entire operation, this delicate web of lies and trickery, rested on me. I knew that. I had to constantly be watching, or Edward could suddenly come home and they would have no warning, or Charlie could ban us all from Forks, which would cause too much of a scandal for us to ever be able to come back, even seventy years from now. I was the only one who could see what would happen - and therefore influence it - I needed to take responsibility for that.

Once my panic was momentarily satiated, I turned my attention to the phone calls I had to make. One to Carlisle, one to Jasper, one, maybe, to Charlie. To tell him I was coming, maybe.

Of course, I realized, I would have to think of another reason I was coming to Forks. I couldn't go because of Bella's death because I didn't know about it. I would have to think of another reason for coming. I would get to that later. First, I needed to call Jasper. I felt horrible about the way I had snapped at him, completely disregarded his advice, and ran away without saying goodbye. My heart ached at hurting him.

I took out my phone once the pilot turned off the fasten seatbelts light. I probably would have done it beforehand, but I had had other things to deal with, e.g. the disappearance of Charlie, and I needed to work up my courage. Besides, the flight attendants would give me enough crap for this as it was.

Sure enough, the moment one of them saw my phone, he was walking towards me. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I'll have to ask you turn that off until we're back on the ground."

It was a good thing I had an aisle seat; that made it much more easier to slip the attendant the fifty-dollar bill. His eyes widened as he felt the bill pass into his hand. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I suppose this one time we could make an exception."

He walked away unevenly. He hadn't even checked the dollar amount of the bill. Stupid. I could have given him just a dollar and he wouldn't even know it.

I dialed the number mindlessly, a little afraid of what was awaiting me on the other end. Would Jasper be angry, or just sorry we had quarreled?

"Hello?"

"Jasper? Jasper, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" His deep voice was calm and very comforting. I longed to see his face and curl into his side, press my face against his chest and feel his strong arm around me. I suddenly wished I was home again, that I could mourn with Jasper and not have to see reminders that would hurt too much without him by my side. But it was too late.

"Sorry I just ran away, without saying goodbye. Sorry I wouldn't listen to you. You were probably right."

"No, Alice. You were right, for you. For me, it would have been better if I stayed here and grieve alone, with you and Carlisle and Esme. I'm more solitary than you, you know that. You're much more extroverted, and what was best for you was to go. I understand that now."

"But Charlie?"

"What about him?"

"You said he'd be hurt by my appearance. You said you knew how human emotions worked, that he wouldn't appreciate me being there. I don't want to hurt him more than he already is."

"Maybe…" He spoke very slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "Maybe he would be comforted by you. You're one of the people who knew Bella best, after all. Maybe I was wrong. "

I knew that that was hard for him to say. He hated being wrong, as much as Emmett hated to lose. He was much like Edward in that way.

"Thank you, Jasper," I murmured.

"You're welcome," he answered, knowing what I meant.

"Come back to me as soon as you can," he whispered.

"Yes. As soon as I possibly can, but it probably won't be for at least a week. They'll have to make funeral preparations." I didn't ask him if he wanted to come, I knew what the answer would be. All those people suppressing tears, with hidden agonies under the surface - it would be too much for him. I knew he would come if I asked him to, but I didn't want to put him through that.

"I know."

"I'll miss you," I said, and it was true. I would miss him, the constant pillar of strength, the refuge that was always there to protect me, not from physical things, but from mental ones, feelings and futures that scared me and hurt me and broke me in turn. I would miss him like my I would miss my right arm or my visions, were they suddenly ripped from me..

"I'll miss you too. I love you."

"Love you too. I'll call you tomorrow." I slowly hung up the phone and sat there in silence for a minute before I redialed Carlisle's phone. The flight attendant shot me a dirty look, but didn't come over. Smart. Or stupid, depending on how you looked at it. I just would have given him more money.

As I knew he would, Carlisle didn't answer his phone.

"Carlisle? This is Alice," I said, voice brusque and businesslike. "Go to Tanya's as soon as you get this message. I've gone to Forks. Bella's committed suicide." I realized too late that I probably should have softened the message somehow to make it easier for them to take. "She's dead," I said, my voice softer now. I've gone to comfort Charlie and help out however I can. I'll call again soon. Don't tell Edward," I added as an afterthought, though Carlisle would probably figure this out for himself. "You know what he'd do."

I hung up the phone and went back to sifting through the future, watching so many things at one time my brain felt like it had a too-small swim cap stretched tightly over it. Edward's future, Carlisle's, Jasper's, and always, always, searching desperately for Charlie, but never finding him.

When the announcement came that we were starting our descent into Sea-Tac, I barely heard it, so immersed in my visions was I. When the plane landed, I was the first off it, moving at barely-human speed until I was outside, away from the cars and shuttles and planes and people, away into the woods.

Then I began the final leg of my journey, the run to Forks.

**Hmm…this is kind of a slow-moving story. Three chapters for only a few hours. At this rate, this story could be dozens of chapters long. I better start picking things up a little :-P. **

**Review!**


	4. Stranger

**Sorry that it was underlined again. For those of you who've been following along with Nightmare too, you know how much of a problem that is. Grr... I forgot to check this before I posted it, and of course it was underlined. Sorry. Those of you here on story alert, nothing new. My apologies :-(.**

**This chapter's about 500 words shorter than the other ones have been. My apologies x2.**

**Someone pointed out in a review that it wasn't fair to make people to review to get me to write more when I already knew people liked it. And that made me a little confused.**

**If this story gets a good enough response, it could very well continue all the way to the end of New Moon. But if, for example, this chapter gets no reviews all, I'm not going to randomly stop it at this chapter. I'll get to a good stopping point, e.g. maybe when Alice finally understands her mistake (which will probably be in the next chapter).**

**Therefore, you don't **_**have **_**to review to get me to write more. Though how far I go will depend on how large a response I get, there are certain stopping points. I won't just stop in a spot where it doesn't even make sense. Just thought I'd clear that up.**

**Now, on with chapter four! :-P**

It took less than an hour to run from Sea-Tac to our old house. When I arrived, the house was stolid and proud, aloof. It seemed somehow smaller, now, retracting in on itself, but maybe that was just because of the advancing plant life around it. It seemed like it looked down upon the ferns as a lesser being, that it was trying valiantly to keep the encroaching tendrils from touching its perfect walls.

It seemed lonely, very lonely, as much as it tried to hide it. Its inhabitants had moved on and it was still here, surviving until someone came back and turned it around and made it a home again.

But right now it was just empty and sad, trying to keep its distance from everything and failing.

The meadow surrounding the house was so overgrown that it was up past my waist as I hurried past it to the garage, as fast as I could run. Partly because I _was _in a hurry, but part of it was because I didn't want to see the house, empty as it was. I could see the interior all too clearly in my mind, the dust covers making all the furniture white ghosts, the dusty light filtering in through the big windows, the tall ceilings dark and shadowy. It would be covered in dust and maybe even a little mold might be creeping in on the windowsills or the sink.

The garage wasn't in the best of conditions either, but at least it seemed a little more occupied, maybe because of the cars that still filled it. Carlisle's car was here, and so was Edward's Volvo. Rosalie had flat-out refused to part with her convertible, and Emmett hadn't seemed particularly keen on leaving his Jeep, either - besides, he had pointed out, there was a lot of wilderness in Alaska that required an off-road vehicle.

I thought about taking Edward's car - I liked the Volvo better than Carlisle's Mercedes, even though his was faster, but I quickly decided against that idea as I realized that Charlie would definitely recognize it. And be angered by it. Though Charlie may be happy to see me, he sure as hell would not be happy to see Edward.

So I climbed into the Mercedes and backed the car out down the driveway. I didn't go too much over the speed limit on the driveway, painfully aware of every scratch the overgrowth was making on the paint job. I would have to remember to fix that before I went home.

Once I hit the open highway, I floored the gas pedal and was at Bella's house in four minutes flat. There was no one there. It was uncomfortable - well, more than that, downright _scary_ - not to be able to know for _sure _whether someone would be home. Bella, of course, wouldn't be, but Charlie was still eluding my visions and that scared me more than anything else.

The house was dark. I tried the door, unsure what I would do if it was locked. I couldn't pick it - what would Charlie think when he came home? _Hi, Charlie, I know I haven't seen you in seven months and that I was the reason for your daughter's suicide, but I came by to say hi and your door was locked so I picked it. Hope you don't mind. _Yup, that was what I would say.

Luckily, the door did open when I tried it - the crime rate in Forks was so low there was really no point _to _locking it - but I kept the lights off as I wandered through the house. I wondered where Charlie was - at work? That seemed plausible. Or at someone else's house, trying to cope with his grief or making funeral plans. But when would he be home?

I had decided my plan while I was still on the plane: I had been in the area, checking out the University of Washington in Seattle, and had decided to stop by to visit.

I went into the kitchen, to look for some clue as to where Charlie might be. There was nothing - it was scrupulously clean, not a crumb on the countertops or a drop of water in the sink to suggest anyone had been her recently.

There was also a faint smell in the kitchen - animalistic, almost doglike. Had Bella gotten a pet?

I wandered up the stairs to Bella's room. It, too, was more tidy than it had ever been when we were living here - no clothes on the floor or on the back of the rocking chair, all the books neatly on their shelves. And - where they in alphabetical order? Yes, they were, I confirmed, stepping closer. The bed looked like it had been ironed, the comforter was so tight and smooth.

It was like no one had been living here - I would have been afraid of that, if I couldn't smell her scent laced all over the room. And again, that faint dog smell - why?

Another subtle detail - there were no CD's. Bella had had at least a dozen, I knew for sure - now there were none at all.

What had been going on since we had left? I was growing more wary by the second. This was not Bella's room. Bella did not alphabetize her books. Bella's room was not this neat. And Bella listened to music. And - what I found the most disturbing - Bella did not have a dog.

Charlie had to get home soon. He had a few questions to answer.

Almost as soon as I thought the words, I heard a car drive along the street. It was silent - no one was talking, there was no music playing. Unusual. Two people - two heartbeats.

With a shocked gasp, I recognized both scents. The first one was the dog smell I had been wondering about, but it was so much stronger. Before, when there was just traces, it had smelled mildly unpleasant, but nothing overwhelming. Now, even from yards away, it absolutely reeked. It wasn't human - that much I was sure about. No human smelled that repulsive.

The other smell, I was positive of it, was Bella's. Bella, who was supposed to be dead.

The car pulled out in front of the house and stopped, the engine going silent. That, too, I recognized, when I saw it. It was Bella's truck.

I tried to make a sentence of the stuff I was positive about.

Bella, who had committed suicide, was driving her truck with someone who was definitely not human.

What the _hell _was going on?

I couldn't see the people in the truck. I was at the wrong angle. But I could hear quite clearly the rustle of clothing and then, after a moment, a deep, throaty voice saying, "Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bells. I swear I don't mind. I'm just so glad you're okay I could sing - and that's something no one wants to hear."

So it was definitely Bella in the car. With someone I did not know. The voice struck no chord in my memory.

Someone's breathing accelerated.

After another long moment someone opened the door halfway, taking a deep breath, then, half a second later, breathed out again just as hard and slammed the door.

"Holy _crap_!" the voice said, anger apparent.

"What's wrong?" asked the second voice, and there was no mistaking it, it was Bella.

It was at that moment that I lost complete faith in my visions and began to panic. I had seen Bella jump off the cliff and here she was, less than thirty feet away from me. I could no longer see Charlie. For all I knew, Edward could be at Tanya's right now.

The truck attempted to start but failed as the first voice, the unknown one, spat "Vampires."

He knew.

He _knew_.

What had Bella done? What could possibly have possessed her to make her tell someone our secret?

Anger flooded through me. Didn't she know what this meant? How serious this was? What the Volturi would do when they found out?

Suddenly, a line from Disney's _Hercules _went through my mind: _If. If he finds out_. It had been made in reference to Hades, when Pain and Panic hadn't made Hercules fully human, but it certainly worked for this situation. Who said they needed to know? As long as we made sure whoever it was never told a soul - Jasper had ways of doing that, what with all his work with J. Jenks - there was no need for the Volturi to get involved.

_If is good_.

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	5. Psuedo

**Several people pointed out the fall/jump typo I made, so it's fixed now.**

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**I was going to write another chapter for something else, like Nightmare, considering I just updated this on Friday, but as renesmee rose's review pointed out, "wow it needs the next chapter to make it any good nothing exciting happened." Not that I'm complaining about the review, though.**

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**Because of that, this chapter is almost 1000 words longer than the last one. Hooray!**

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Bella's next line left me breathless with anger. She didn't seem concerned at all that he knew, that he was shouting it for the whole street to hear.

"How do you know?" she asked, completely calm except for the fear saturating her voice.

"Because I can smell it! Dammit!" I wondered what, exactly, this stranger had against vampires. We were dangerous, of course, but there was really no need to sound so…_angry_. I was a little miffed. I hated to admit it, but it was true.

And, how could this stranger _smell _us? Humans could smell vampires, I supposed, but he should not be able to smell me from where he sat. But then again, I had already established that he was not human.

"Phase or get her out of here?" he muttered. I felt a little angry that he was talking about her like she wasn't there. But the larger part of my mind was stuck on the word _phase_. Phase into what?

I needed some answers here. Bella had better get in the house soon.

"Right. Get you out," the stranger said, and I was glad he was talking _to_ Bella again. But that was very bad news for me. Bella needed to get in here right now. I watched with horror as the truck started noisily and started off down the street.

So when Bella called "Stop!" I was very relieved.

The stranger ignored her, and that angered me again. I was pleased when Bella said, "Stop!" again.

"What?!" the stranger said incredulously, as if he thought she was insane. What did have against us? I found myself wondering futilely again.

I wondered what Bella had seen that made her want to turn around.

I hated wondering. I needed to _know_.

And then I realized something else, something I hadn't noticed because I had been to caught up on Bella being alive, on the stranger being a stranger, on everything that had happened in the last hour.

I still couldn't see Bella. There was no vision of her in the car, of what would happen five minutes from now. She was still gone. Just _gone_. This was _not _good.

If I couldn't see her in front of me, I would have thought she was still dead.

_Why couldn't I see her?_

Was my gift slipping? Was it fading away? Could I no longer see humans at all? Maybe it was just vampires I could see now, forever. Would I one day lose that as well? Maybe the farther away I got from my own humanity, the less of humans I could see. Maybe, maybe, maybe…so many question marks, so many theories….

The panic abated a little and was replaced again by confusion when Bella said, "It's not Victoria. Stop, stop! I want to go back!"

Why would it be Victoria? Why would they assume that? And how did this stranger know who she was?

"What?" the stranger asked again as the car slammed to a halt.

"It's Carlisle's car! It's the Cullens. I know it." Bella said, relaxing a little now that the car wasn't moving.

Suddenly, she sounded worried again as she said, "Hey, calm down, Jake. It's okay. No danger, see? Relax."

So the stranger's name was _Jake_. I didn't recognize it.

"Yeah, calm," Jake said, taking deep breaths. After a long moment, he whispered, sounding angry again, "There's a vampire in your house. And you _want _to go back?"

"Of course," Bella said quietly, like it was obvious, like, 'What else would I want to do? Run away screaming?'

There was a long pause. Jake took a deep breath, then said "You're sure it's not a trick?" like he thought it was. Why would it be a trick? Who would want to trick Bella? Victoria? What did she have to do with anything?

I couldn't remember the last time I had so many questions that were going unanswered. It was not improving my mood.

"It's not a trick, it's Carlisle. Take me back!"

I was glad to know, at least, that _Bella _didn't seem to hate us as Jake did. That she forgave us, that whatever had compelled her to jump off a cliff hadn't been us, maybe was something else. That thought gave me hope.

"No," Jake said flatly.

"Jake, it's okay-" Bella began to comfort him, but he cut her off.

"No. Take yourself back, Bella." He paused for a moment, then said, "Look, Bella, I can't go back. Treaty or no treaty, that's my enemy in there."

Why was a vampire his enemy? What treaty was he talking about?

It seemed like every word that was spoken only increased my confusion.

"It's not like that-" Bella tried again, but again, Jake cut her off.

"I have to tell Sam right away. This changes things. We can't be caught on their territory."

It was at that moment that I remembered something. A conversation with Edward and Bella, coming home from Port Angeles, the night Bella figured out our secret.

"_I ran into an old family friend - Jacob Black," _Bella had said.

Then…

"_His dad is one of the Quileute elders. We went for a walk and he was telling me some old legends - trying to scary me, I think. He told me one….about vampires."_

Was this "Jake" and that Jacob Black one and the same? But the stories Jacob had told her about, surely he didn't believe in them. Did he? And that still didn't explain how he knew about Victoria…

And then - another conversation, this one between Edward and me.

"_What did his father being a Quileute elder have to do with anything?" I had asked._

"_When Carlisle, Esme, and I were here before, we met up with some of the Quileutes in La Push. Our coming had sparked a genetic quirk that had only happened in their legends. Three of them became werewolves…in their legends, they had existed to fight off vampires, or the Cold Ones as they referred to us…We made a treaty with them, they wouldn't attack us if we stayed off their land, and promised not to bite another human again…"_

No. It couldn't be…

But it did make sense. The werewolves would obviously know about vampires - that was how Jacob knew. Bella hadn't told anyone, after all. That was good. It didn't seem like her to tell anyone…

And then Jacob saying "_Treaty or no treaty, that's my enemy in there._" That would make sense, too.

It still seemed a kind of far-fetched answer, but it was the best I could come up with right now. I would talk to Bella when she came in.

_If _she came in. Would she stand up to Jacob?

"Jake, it's not a war!" Bella called, desperate now. That line, too, made sense with my new theory.

A figure jumped out onto the street, and he was Quileute, all right. He bounded down the street, faster than any human could run.

Bella stayed silent for a moment, not moving, but then slowly I heard her clothes rustle as she slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. Slowly, very slowly, she drove it into the driveway and walked up the drive. She paused once, looked back at the car, as if she was doubting herself.

I decided now was the time to move. Very quietly I darted down the stairs to the hallway. I would wait for her there. I didn't turn on the light yet. Didn't want to scare her.

I heard her stand on her tiptoes to reach the key, not knowing the door was unlocked.

It was at that moment that I saw her. Not physically, but in my mind. It was a vision of her. Running toward me, squealing my name, crying…

Relief flowed through me. My vision was not lost, after all. But why had it gone missing?

The door opened slowly and Bella stepped inside. Her eyes were round and scared-looking as her fingers searched along the wall, trying to find the switch. There was one right by my hand - should I turn it on? No - better to let her do it.

Suddenly her hand stopped searching. Could she see me? No - for one thing it was too dark, for another, my vision had shown the lights _on. _Unless, that, too, was false?

Suddenly impatient, as Bella still hadn't moved, I switched on the light. Bella blinked for a moment, stunned, then took in my face and ran straight for me.

Oh, Bella. Not a good idea.

She slammed into me very hard - for her, at least. I couldn't feel a thing, but it must have hurt. She would have bounced off but I put my arm around her shoulders and caught her.

Bella started crying, tears pouring down her cheeks as she latched frantically on to me. And - was she _sniffing _me? How odd.

I stood there, letting her get it our, for a moment, but after a solid minute had passed and she wasn't getting any better, I half-carried, half-dragged her to the couch in the living room.

She smelled good, too. Too good. I was suddenly very aware of how dark my eyes were - I had never actually caught the bear when I had been hunting with Jasper just a few short hours ago, and before that, I hadn't hunted in at least a week, maybe more. I knew Jasper didn't like to hunt as often as he had been doing, and he tried to hold off when he could. During dark periods, he would ask to hunt with me very often, but he had been doing good - staying at Tanya's had improved everyone's spirits for a little while, at least, until the depressing feelings we all had started to lower Tanya's family's usually happy ones.

My throat burned as the tears leaked out of her eyes, the water only making her smell better. I wanted to pull away, but Bella hadn't seen me in seven months. She deserved a little freaking-out time. So I settled for keeping my head the farthest I could away from her, talking as little as possible, and rubbing her back, hoping she'd gain control soon.

"I'm…sorry," she said once. "I'm just…so happy…to see you!"

I was happy to see her, too. The relief probably would have been stronger if it hadn't been mixed with the thirst, but I was happy. Bella had been my best friend for however short a time. I had missed her.

"It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay," I said, and then I was out of air to talk. She had better stop crying soon.

"Yes," she sobbed, sighing, her breath washing over me while her pulse throbbed. What hard work crying seemed to be!

I needed to tell Bella how dangerously close to losing control I was. "I'd forgotten how exuberant you were," I said, hoping she'd get the hint.

It worked.

"Oh. Sorry." She slid off my lap and sat beside me instead. A little better.

"It's my own fault," I said. "I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty." Not exactly true, but close enough. "But I was in a hurry, today." Which reminded me. Bella had some explaining to do. "Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

Bella looked sheepish while she figured out what I meant. It didn't take long. She swallowed. "You saw me fall."

Was that what she was going to try to pass this off as? It wasn't going to work. "No. I saw you _jump_." She wasn't going to get out of it _that _easily.

Bella paused, her lips pursed.

I shook my head. "I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me. 'Bella promised. Don't be looking for her future, either. We've done enough damage.'" I noticed how Bella reacted when I imitated Edward's voice. She flinched ever so slightly and her face went carefully blank. I mentally kicked myself for bringing him up. It must have been a hard seven months, if suicide had seemed like the only answer.

"But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't _see_," I said, changing subjects quickly. It was necessary she understand this, too. I hadn't been trying to look for her. She had better pass that along to Edward, when he finally caved.

Because he would, now. There was no need for secrecy. Bella wasn't dead. Edward wouldn't go to the Volturi. And sooner or later, Edward would come back. I looked forward to that.

"I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm already attuned to you…when I saws you jumping, I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do _nothing_. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up. I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have _any _idea what Edward-"

All the anger I had felt for Bella earlier came rushing back. It had been muffled by my relief at seeing her alive, but now it was back, stronger than before. I had almost intentionally talked about Edward again, though I knew that was mean. But she had to know. Suicide may have been the easy way out for her, but it sure as hell wasn't easy for anyone else. How could she have been so selfish?

Bella cut me off before I was done, her eyes wide, expression pleading. Yes, she had better plead. I was good and mad now, and she better have a few good reasons for doing what she did.

Her words caught me completely off guard, though, as she said, slowly, "Alice, I wasn't committing suicide."

**Sorry…I kind of wrote myself into a trap about the hunting thing, so it doesn't make much sense. My apologies.**

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	6. Wolf

**Guys…this is a very special moment for me! It's my first chapter that's been betaed! By my _awesome_ beta, TheSingingGirl! Go read ALL her stories! NOW! (after reviewing this chapter, of course :-P). **

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I stifled the urge to roll my eyes. Did she really think I would believe that? I had _seen _her. Of course, my visions weren't the most accurate things at the moment, but still...

"Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?" I asked Bella incredulously, still a little angry.

"No, but...It was for recreational purposes only."

What the _hell _was that supposed to mean? Not knowing things made me grouchy. Bella was lucky I didn't bite her head off after a comment like that. Both figuratively _and _literally. But Edward probably wouldn't like that too much. All the same…

"I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving," she said hastily, eyeing my expression warily. "It look liked...fun, and I was bored..."

Something in Bella's tone made me doubt the reason she did it was because it was 'fun', but I didn't' question her word choice. Also, so now 'Jake' was Jacob. The fact _seemed _inconsequential, but it did make it a lot more likely that Jacob Black and Jake were the same person.

So I didn't say anything and waited for Bella to continue, anger still washing out any other emotions.

"I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all."

_No duh_, I thought bitterly. But what _did _you think about when you jumping off a cliff _into water _besides the _water_? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

To me, Bella's explanation sounded weak. She had a motive. And there was definitely evidence. If Bella truly wanted me to believe that suicide had not been her intention, she needed to explain things some more. I knew that Bella could see that in my face, so I just waited.

"So if you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?"

What? What did me not seeing Jacob have to do with her jumping off a cliff? And she didn't think she could out of this one by _changing the subject_, did she? But that _was _a good question. Why _hadn't _I seen Jacob outside just now?

"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me. Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?" Bella spoke all in a rush, tripping over her words like I was going to stop her before she got it all out. But there was no chance of that. I was too distracted by her words and poring over them in my mind, working out their meaning again and again...

So she hadn't been referring to just now, outside, when she said I 'didn't see Jacob'? Had Jacob pulled her from the water? "_Couldn't have been more than a minute"_? I had watched for five, at least...

"Someone pulled you out?"

"Yes. Jacob saved me." At that moment, another theory occurred to me. Maybe those three words - _Jacob saved me _- had a double meaning. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of this before. Bella was hanging around with another guy? My thoughts just a few minutes ago came back to me - _But I could hear quite clearly the rustle of clothing and then, after a moment, a deep, throaty voice saying, "Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bells." _Had that rustle been a goodbye kiss?

_How _could Bella do that? She had been ready to give up her humanity for her boyfriend of five months, who she supposedly loved with all of heart - this fact backed up by Jasper - and then, seven months later, she was already involved in another relationship? What was _that _about? Ugh…so many questions I didn't know the answers to…

Putting my theories aside - for now - I turned back to Bella. It was then I noticed something else. Her scent was just as potent, that was for sure, but I had been so caught up in the delicious, human part of it before that I hadn't noticed the other half, the part that made my nose wrinkle automatically, that smelled like the unappetizing part of the animals we hunted. The same scent that Jacob had.

Though I was sure of what I was smelling, I got a closer whiff anyway. Yup - definitely animalistic. What was it? My theory came back to me again - _werewolf_?

"Don't be ridiculous," I said to myself. Now that I knew the whole story behind Bella's jump, I didn't have to settle for ridiculous theories. I would know the truth.

"What are you doing?" Bella demanded, watching me warily like I was crazy. Smelling for werewolves that were in all likelihood nonexistent? Maybe I was.

Time to get straight to the point. I wanted answers, and I wanted them _now_.

"Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing."

"Jacob Black." So I was right. "He's...sort of my best friend, I guess. At least he was..." Was I two for two? He used to be her best friend, now he was her _boy_friend? That had _better_ not be the case...

"What?" Bella demanded, looking at me strangely. What did my expression look like? She had always been too perceptive.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm not sure what it means." It killed me to say those words.

"Well, I'm not dead, at least," she pointed out sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes. Only Bella would be able to say that like a three-pack-a-day smoker might say, 'Well, I only had _one _pack today.' "He was a fool to think you could survive alone," I told her. "I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy." Even if she _had _jumped off the cliff for, as she put it, "recreational purposes", it was still stupid. And I hoped she knew it.

"I survived," she said.

_Against all odds_, I wanted to say. But there were more pressing matters at hand. Like Jacob Black.

"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?"

"Jacob is...strong," she said hesitantly, like that wasn't quite the right word.

Well, if he _was _a werewolf, he would certainly be strong, according to Edward. Not as strong as us, of course, but strong enough to fight us off if the need arose.

Bella paused for a moment, like she was deciding something important.

"See, well, he's...sort of a werewolf," she said, then cringed back, as if expecting me to cry out, 'Surely not!'

As if.

"The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?" she asked, but I was too preoccupied to answer right away.

I was _right_. Jacob Black was a werewolf. And it couldn't be only him, could it? There had to be more...Carlisle had to know about this. Immediately. This could prove a delicate situation. These new wolves might not be as tolerant of us as Ephraim Black had been. Perhaps the treaty would be lost, perhaps they would attack us.

Another reciprocation of the wolves being back also came to me - we couldn't change Bella when Edward finally caved. Well, we could, of course, but we'd have to go far away and stay away. They would surely hunt us down if we stayed in the area...

Coming back to the present, I said absently. "Well, I guess that explains the smell," I said. And it did - Edward had mentioned that, too. The wolves smelled repulsive. Just like Jacob. "But does it explain what I didn't see?" Did the fact that Jacob was a werewolf, and therefore a natural enemy of vampires, somehow make him immune to my visions? But why would that stop me from seeing Bella?

"The smell?" Bella said, eyes wide.

"You smell awful," I said, realizing too late how insulting this would sound but too preoccupied to care. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure," Bella said earnestly, and then flinched back a bit, as if remembering something in her mind. Had one of them changed in front of her?

"I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves her in Forks?"

"No. I hadn't found him yet."

A part of my mind was calling back everything I knew about the werewolves that Edward had told me, and I knew how dangerous they were. They could kill her, quite potentially, quite _easily._

"Your best friend is a werewolf?" I asked suddenly, putting a slight emphasis on _best friend_. I didn't want to bring that up right now, but I hoped she would pick up on it. Of course, she didn't.

"How long has this been going on?" I demanded. Had there been wolves here before we had left? And how soon after we had left had Bella found her new 'best friend?'

"Not long," Bella said a little defensively. As if there _was _any defense for hanging out with a werewolf. As if her words made the situation better instead of worse. "He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks."

She thought that was a _good _thing?

"A _young _werewolf?" I questioned incredulously. "Even worse! Edward was right - you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out trouble?" Of course, it had also been Edward's subconscious wish that she _not _find anyone else to spend her life with – though he would argue with anyone who pointed that out – but that hadn't stopped her, had it?

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," Bella said, sounding hurt.

"Until they lose their tempers!" I exclaimed. Why couldn't she _see _this? I shook my head exasperatedly. "Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."

"No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leave - not all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble," Bella said, almost pleadingly, as if it was _imperative _that I understand this. "If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess, so-"

But there I cut her off. I had nearly forgotten about Victoria, that she was somehow involved in all this, too, but now there was _Laurent_, too? And I thought we were done with that whole coven last spring...

"Victoria? Laurent?" I said to Bella.

"Danger magnet, remember?" Bella asked, as if that explained everything. Uh, no, Bella, but being a so-called 'danger magnet' is not enough to explain why three bloodthirsty vampires have tried to kill you in a year-long period. Sorry.

"Tell me everything," I said. Obviously, my questions were just getting me more confused. I wasn't used to having to ask so many! "Start at the beginning," I ordered.

Bella's story was ridiculous. So much danger, so little time. I should make her a shirt that said that. I thought Bella might have skipped some things at the beginning, or just stretched the truth a little - she stumbled over her words and her heartbeat was erratic.

The part about the 'flames' on the water, though - that had some substance behind it. If Victoria really were after Bella - well, it would be a lot harder for her now. There would be no way Edward would let Bella stay here alone, anymore. Now Victoria would have however-many-werewolves and seven vampires to try to get through. Good luck.

Another thing I noticed was how hard it was for Bella to tell the story. Her voice broke more than once, especially any parts when vampires came into play at all - and at one part, while explaining the "mate for mate" nonsense, I could have sworn there was a tear glistening on her cheek.

Maybe...maybe Jacob wasn't a "boyfriend", in the romantic sense of the word. Maybe he was more a crutch. Bella's words came back to me - _Jacob saved me_ - and I wondered if there was a completely different secondary meaning behind that. Poor Bella.

When she was finished, I watched her for a moment and then said softly, "Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?"

She laughed, a little hysterically. "That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit." Those words were hard for her to say, too, I could tell.

I had forgotten the lie Edward had told. My sympathy for Bella increased, almost all the anger gone. I thought - not for the first time - what I would have felt, had it been me here and Jasper who had left. Unendurable pain.

Maybe Bella's suicide attempt, though I supposed that wasn't what it was anymore, wasn't such a bad idea. Now it was Edward I was angry at. He really thought she would move on? Idiot.

"Well...I guess I acted impulsively today," I admitted. "I probably shouldn't have intruded. I couldn't feel too bad, now, though. Bella would be fine. Edward was coming back. Of course, I wouldn't tell her that. I would let Edward work that out with her. That sounded like a fun conversation. _Uh, actually, Bella, I still love you. Haha - that conversation we had last fall? Just kidding_.

Bella's reaction to my words was instantaneous and shocking. Her face went as pale as mind and her heartbeat sped up erratically. "Don't go, Alice," she begged, fingers locked tenaciously on my shirt collar. "Please don't leave me," she whispered as she started hyperventilating.

My decision not to tell Bella that Edward was coming back wavered - but I ended up holding strong. I would calm her down without sharing that particular bit of news.

"All right," I said. "I'm not going anywhere tonight." How could I, with her in this state? "Take a deep breath."

She slowly calmed down, and I watched her.

She really was in a state. Her hair was lank, she was underweight; the hollows under her eyes were nearly as deep as ours. And here eyes themselves - empty, anguished, even when she was happy or laughing.

What the _hell _had Edward been thinking?

"You look like hell, Bella," I told her when her breathing was normal again.

"I drowned today," she said.

Not what I meant. "It goes deeper than that. You're a mess."

She flinched away. Oops. But it had to be said. "Look. I'm doing my best," she protested.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I could guess, though.

"It hasn't been easy." I could practically hear the word _healing_ following after that. "I'm working on it." _It's just not going very well_, her face told me.

"I told him," I said to myself. I had _told_ him she wouldn't heal easily. But he hadn't listened to me, as always. Ugh. He was going to have some explaining to do when he came. And a hell of a lot of apologizing.

"Alice," Bella said, almost exasperatedly, "What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."

_No, I just expected to find you dead_, I wanted to answer. But I knew that wasn't what she meant. And I _did _know her better than that. Better than Edward knew her, apparently.

"I do. But I had hoped." No one had more than me, except for Edward, though his couldn't really be called hope more than _force, _or idiotic certainty. Bella _would_ heal. Bella _would _be happy.

But he was wrong.

"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market."

Well, that was a little mean. Deserved, but mean all the same. I decided I'd let her off, this once.

The phone rang.

"That has to be Charlie," Bella assumed, and immediately, automatically, I scrolled through the future to find out if she was right.

And Bella was gone again.

Not _again_.

Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me to the kitchen with her.

"Charlie?" she said into the phone.

"No, it's me," a different voice said. Jacob's voice.

It did bother me a little that he didn't have to say 'Jacob', only 'me'. But I now had no doubts that Bella was romantically involved with him.

"Jake!" Bella said. She sounded happy. Happier than she had seemed when I had been with her, anyway.

"Just making sure you were still alive," Jacob said a little meanly. Okay, I was definitely letting Bella off.

"I'm fine. I told you that it wasn't-" Bella started, almost smug, but Jacob cut her off. How rude.

"Yeah. I got it. Bye." And then he was gone.

Bella sighed, but she didn't seem nearly as hurt as she would if Edward or I had hung up on her. "That's going to be a problem," she said.

I was desperate for any scrap of information that would tell me how serious they were.

"They aren't excited I'm here," I said. It wasn't a question. Of course they wouldn't be.

"Not especially. But it's none of their business anyway."

Actually, it _was_, but that didn't matter. I was glad Bella seemed to side with me more than them.

"So what do we do now?" I asked Bella warily, but I answered myself, "Things to do. Loose ends to tie." I had to fill the rest of the family in, reach Edward, keep Bella safe from Victoria, parley with the werewolves...I couldn't leave yet.

"What things to do?" Bella asked.

"I don't know for sure. I need to see Carlisle." How much could I do, without having the history or knowledge Carlisle did?

Bella paled again. "Could you stay?" she asked pleadingly. "Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much."

Well, I wasn't going to leave, not with Victoria still around. But then again, I didn't want to hurt Bella more...or keep her from seeing Jacob. It might not be safe for her, but at least the wolves wouldn't be angry.

"If you think that's a good idea," I said.

"I do. You can stay here - Charlie would love that."

Not necessarily true. Charlie may not 'love' that, bearing in mind Bella's pitiful state, and neither would the wolves, probably.

"I have a house, Bella," I pointed out.

Her face fell. Her reaction wasn't quite as strong as the first time, but it made me reconsider. Maybe I should stay here...

"Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least," I said. Charlie would get suspicious if I had no luggage. Most of my clothes had been left here, anyway. I had missed them, poor things. Of course, they had quickly gotten replaced, but still...

Bella hugged me, and my face ended up right by her heart. Not good. My nostrils flared, the venom welled up, and my throat burned viciously.

"And I think I'll need to hunt. Immediately," I said, and thankfully Bella stepped back.

"Oops," she apologized, eyeing me.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" I asked her rhetorically, automatically searching for the future again. This time it came to me easily, thank God. Maybe it _was _the werewolves that had kept me from seeing her earlier…

Anyway, all I saw was Bella cleaning. Good.

"Yes. You'll be fine," I said, and Bella looked relieved.

"You'll come back?" Bella asked quietly. She doubted me? She thought I would just go, while she obviously depended on me so much? Not likely. Then again, I guess it wouldn't be the first time a Cullen betrayed her like that.

Her eyes flickered to the clock. I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, though there was nothing funny about the situation. It wasn't healthy for her.

I kissed her cheek once more for reassurance, ignoring the hideous thirst as best I could, and ducked out the door.


	7. Charlie

**Wow...it's been a long time. More than a month! My apologies. But I've been absurdly busy...I never do anything! So why am I suddenly doing stuff most nights after school? How odd.**

**Anyway, many thanks to TheSingingGirl, as always. Love ya!**

Knowing that I had just an hour to sate my thirst - and it was not likely that I would dare to be even a second late, what with Bella's condition - it critically limited my options. I had no time to waste in chases or games. Probably the fastest option would be to go back behind Bella's house, far enough that no one would notice anything, and grab a deer or two.

I followed the path for just a little ways, jogging at a human pace, in case someone could see me from the road. I stopped for a moment when I reached a spot about two hundred feet from the house - it was still visible behind the trees.

The place looked oddly familiar, though as far as I could remember, I had never physically been back here. A vision, then?

The memory came back to me. It had horrified me when I had first seen it, the cold cruelness of it, but the agony that laced every movement in it had quickly become commonplace in the last seven months.

This was the spot where Edward had said goodbye.

I could not smell Bella's scent anywhere; it was hidden under seven months of rain, animals, and nature. She had never been back here, then, but why one earth would she? Why would she voluntarily go to the place that had been the stimulus for the hell she called her life? Because even after so short a time with her, I could see this wasn't a life. This was barely even an existence.

I shivered involuntarily, trying to shake free the melancholy memories this place had. I began to run, to put as much distance between myself and this place as possible.

I was lucky - I caught the scent of a deer within five minutes of running, and in another five, my eyes were lighter. Not light enough, but it was a start. I killed and drank methodically, my mind far away and drifting.

Forty minutes later, my eyes were the color of the caramel humans seemed to like so much.

Running back to the house, I deliberately skirted around the spot I had passed on the way out. I didn't need to see the place where this all had started.

I could hear the sink running as I neared the house, then the sound of someone swallowing noisily. Silently, I opened the door and went to the living room. Bella had laid out blankets for me; I was proud of her. A seven-month break and she was already thinking like a Cullen again.

Bella came in the room a moment later, face calm, but her eyes gave her away. They were worried. _Really, Bella,_ I wanted to say to her. _I said I would come back, and I will. _I _keep my word, unlike some people I could name..._But I didn't, because it would undoubtedly hurt her and she was fragile enough as it was.

She jumped slightly when she saw me, but then the worry evaporated and she smiled the first real smile I had seen since I had come. It made me happy to know that she seemed to forgive me so quickly, but it also upset me that her happiness seemed so precarious and dependent. One wrong move by me and it would fall and shatter.

Vaguely, I wondered how bad it had been those first few days. If this was what Bella was like now, seven months later, then I didn't want to think of what had happened the day after.

"Thanks," I said to her, thanking her for the thought of making me a bed more than anything else.

"You're early!" she said excitedly, and her smile stretched bigger.

Bella hurriedly crossed the room and sat down next to me. I noted with satisfaction that the burn in my throat was much more muted now. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I forced myself to put my arm around her shoulder, though I wanted to pull away. The dog smell - werewolf, I know knew - was definitely faded, but it was still there. Pungent and poignant and lacing Bella's every move. Which was good in a way because it had been a while since I had been in any extended contact with humans, and the werewolf's scent helped repel Bella's blood.

Bella's body relaxed at my touch, and suddenly I was the one worried. Worried at how needy Bella was, once again.

"Bella, what _are _we going to do with you?" I asked her.

"I don't know," Bella said slowly, her smile fading. "I really have been trying my hardest."

I already knew that. First, Bella, whether or not she was happy with Edward's decision, would have wanted to prove to both herself and everybody else that she was strong enough to cope with a breakup. She wouldn't give anything less than her all because she couldn't bear the thought of anyone thinking she was weak. She spent so much time as the weak human that she wouldn't want to be seen as weak for a human. Second, she would have tried to recover because she would have realized how many people it would hurt to see her in pain. She must have known how it would upset Charlie if she was too depressed, and a few of her friends, too. Angela, maybe. And third, she was no good at lying, and she had already told me how hard she had tried. I would have known from the start if she had been lying.

I summed all my thoughts up in one sentence when I said, "I believe you."

There was a pause, but the silence didn't grow awkward. Vampires, unlike humans, rarely were uncomfortable with silence, and Bella seemed perfectly content to just rest her head on my shoulder and breathe in my scent.

Finally, Bella took a deep breath and said in a very small voice that, even though she tried to hide it, was saturated with pain, "Does...does - does Edward know you're here?" I glanced sharply at her face, and her eyes were closed as though fighting some internal struggle. I could only begin to guess how hard it must be for her to say his name or even acknowledge him at all.

"No." I wouldn't offer any more information then was strictly necessary - I didn't want to prolong this conversation any more than I could help; like Charlie, I didn't like to see Bella in pain.

A second later, eyes still closed, Bella said, "He's not with Carlisle and Esme?" I was surprised that she had come to this conclusion so quickly.

"He checks in every few months," I said warily, keeping in mind Edward's excuse for leaving Bella. _He _could explain that one, thank you very much. No need to tell Bella that he spent the majority of his time curled up in a corner fighting to keep from moaning aloud.

I scrutinized Bella's expression as she filtered that. A tiny, barely noticeable shudder passed through her frame, and then she changed the subject. I caught myself desperately wondering what she was thinking about, and wondered if this was what Edward thought about all the time.

"You said you flew here...Where did you come from?"

Bella's questions were beginning to sound like the Spanish Inquisition. "I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family." No need to tell her how depressing the atmosphere had been there, either.

"Is Jasper here? Did he come with you?"

A sudden wave of loneliness washed through me as I remembered the last time I had seen him. Not even a goodbye kiss. The phone call had made it somewhat better, but I still felt guilty.

I shook my head, working hard to keep my emotions off my face. "He didn't approve of my interfering." At first, that was. "We promised-" _Edward that we wouldn't contact you in any way_, was what I was thinking, what I was planning on saying, but two things happened at once that stopped me. First, mentioning Edward would undoubtedly make Bella unintentionally flinch away. But second, and most importantly, another vision had danced to the front of my head, and this one shocked me so much that all my thoughts of Bella dissolved and my concentration was suddenly absolute.

The vision itself wasn't especially shocking; it was the character that shocked me. _Charlie_.

Relief coursed through me. I could see him again, my vision wasn't lost, his future still existed.

The content of the vision was curious, too, though - Charlie stepping out of his car, hunched over and grief plain on his face. What was the matter with him? Had someone told him Bella had jumped off the cliff, and he expected now to come home to an empty house? No - someone would surely have told him that she wasn't dead. But the part that scared me the most was when I realized that Charlie was coming home in a matter of seconds. And I had no cover story whatsoever.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid_, I mentally chastised myself. Jasper's warning echoed in my head again. "_Alice, believe me - going to Charlie would be the opposite of helpful to him. I know how human emotions work, Alice, and it would just make it worse for him." _Was Jasper right? Whatever grief the poor man was facing right now, would I make it worse by my presence?

All of this had taken only half a second, but the worry continued to gnaw at me as I asked Bella, "And you think Charlie won't mind my being here?" I could hear the worry leak into my tone as well, and I resisted the urge to ask whatever it was he was upset about.

Bella's voice, in contrast, was supremely confident as she answered, "Charlie thinks you're wonderful, Alice."

"Well, we're about to find out." I wasn't completely satisfied with her response - after all, who understood emotions better, an eighteen-year-old girl who had only her five senses to go on, or my hundred and fifty year old husband who knew, for sure, what every human felt in response to every situation?

I saw Bella's eyes widen in half-surprise when she heard the car pull up out front. She didn't comment on it, though. She was adapting to vampire senses again amazingly quickly after seven months without them. Maybe the werewolves had helped with that, though.

Bella hurried off the couch, a perfect expression of sympathy ready for her father. If only I knew what the sympathy was for!

Future met present as my vision came true - Charlie's slow trudge up the walk was an exact repeat of what I had just seen in my mind.

Bella met Charlie with a hug as I sat worriedly on the couch, desperately combing the future for some help as to what I should say or about what had happened. There was nothing, of course, and I felt foolish for even looking. Of course I couldn't see what I would say - I hadn't yet decided. I was angry at myself for wasting precious seconds on something I knew wouldn't work.

"I'm so sorry about Harry, Dad," Bella murmured, voice low. I latched onto the name as a clue - had this Harry died?

"I'm really going to miss him," Charlie answered, furthering my confidence that this was what had happened Bella hugged him tighter in response. I felt like I was intruding on a private moment, and I resisted the urge to look away. I needed all my senses right now.

_Thanks for telling me about this, Bella_, I told her in my mind.

This was going to be one tricky situation to handle.

"How's Sue doing?" Bella asked, concerned, as she led Charlie through the entryway of the house and towards the living room - towards me. Was Sue Harry's wife, maybe?

"She seems dazed, like she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's staying with her...Those poor kids. Leah's just a year older than you, and Seth is only fourteen..."

Harry had died, and Sue, his wife, and Seth and Leah, his kids, were in various stages of grief. That would make sense. That must be what had happened.

"Um, dad?" Bella said, her tone changing as they neared the doorway to the room where I was sitting. "You'll never guess who's here."

Wow, Bella. Nice introduction.

Nevertheless, I took it as my cue to go up to him.

The look on Charlie's face when I showed up in the doorway was priceless, but I felt terrible for giving him such a shock when he was already so dazed and grief-stricken. "Hi, Charlie," I said softly, so as not to surprise him further. "I'm sorry I came at such a bad time."

"Alice Cullen?" he asked, squinting at me as though he had never seen me before. I tried not to be impatient with his human response.

It occurred to me that I was feeling incredibly irritable at the moment: I was forcibly restraining myself from snapping at Bella or Charlie. Spending so long without humans around had made me forget how slow they were, that was part of it, but I guessed it was mainly the whole emotional atmosphere getting to me. For an instant, I was glad that I didn't have Jasper with me.

"It's me. I was in the neighborhood," I said lamely, wishing I had given more time to thinking up a cover story.

"Is Carlisle...?" Charlie's arm tightened infinitesimally over her shoulder and we all knew that he wasn't asking about Carlisle. Curious, though, that his first question should be about Edward. Again, I wondered what exactly had happened after he had left. I would have to ask him about that, later. Though, if it was so bad, I din't want to make either him or Bella relive it. All the same, I needed to know. I would just do it when Bella was out of the room.

"No, I'm alone," I said, and watched sharply as Charlie's face relaxed. He shot Bella a quick glance. She didn't notice, as her eyes will still focused on me.

"She can stay here, can't she?" Bella asked. "I already asked her."

"Of course," Charlie said, but I could see he didn't mean it. If it wouldn't be unforgivably rude to deny me his house, he would have asked me to leave. If I was in his position, I would have done exactly the same thing.

"Thank you, Charlie," I said sincerely. "I know it's horrid timing." Actually, I hadn't known, but it was close enough to the truth.

"No, it's fine, really," assured Charlie, a little life coming into his voice as he talked about his daughter. "I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company."

"There's some dinner for you on the table, Dad," Bella broke in, holding back a smile, obviously pleased the conversation had gone so well.

"Thanks, Bell," Charlie said, and he trudged to the kitchen, leaving Bella and me alone again.

I breathed a sigh in relief. The hardest part was over.

Now that I was free to focus my attention back on Bella as I led her to the sofa, I took another look at her. The bags under her eyes rivaled my own, and her eyelids drooped.

"You look tired," I pointed out.

Bella didn't try to deny it. Smart. "Yeah. Near-death experiences do that to me...So, what does Carlisle think of you being here?"

I wondered if she was really asking about Carlisle this time. I decided she did.

"He doesn't know. He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I'll hear from him in a few days, when he gets back." Bella didn't look frustrated, so I assumed that was what she wanted to know.

"You won't tell _him_, though...when he checks in again?"

"No. He'd bite my head off," I told her. And I wasn't kidding, either. When Edward did find out, which he inevitably would, I would make sure Jasper was with me before I talked to him.

Bella laughed as though I was joking. Ha.

Five minutes into the peaceful silence that existed between us, Bella was asleep. I watched as her blinking became more irregular, how it took her longer to open her eyes each time, and then as they didn't open again. Her hand rested lightly on her stomach. Asleep, some of the deeply inscribed pain drifted away, but only time could heal the sharply prominent cheekbones and the purple hollows under her eyes

I heard the kitchen chair grating across the floor in the kitchen and the water turn on and then off as Charlie rinsed off his plate. He came back out and smiled a little hollowly when he saw Bella, asleep.

"She must have been beat," he whispered, love saturating his voice. He seemed more protective of Bella now than he had been before. I guessed she was more in need of protecting.

"Yes," I agreed, and very, very gently I slid out from under her and laid her head gently on the couch, throwing a blanket over her. Charlie watched silently.

I wanted to ask Charlie now about what had happened while we were gone, but it wasn't the time. A human would be tired now, after a long day on a plane, and Charlie needed a night to sleep on his grief before he could talk to me about more painful times.

"Maybe you could sleep in Bella's room tonight," Charlie said softly. "Easier then waking her up."

"I guess I'll go to bed now, then," I said, faking a yawn, though it was barely eight o'clock. "It was a long flight. Good night, Charlie."

"Good night," he murmured absentmindedly, still looking upon his daughter lovingly as I disappeared up the stairs.

I heard Charlie climbing the stairs a few minutes later, but the light didn't go out from under his door for another hour. Eventually, his ragged breathing subsided into gentle snores, and I was left with two steady heartbeats to ignore.

I spent the night with my head against the cool glass of Bella's window, wondering how I would be able to leave her again and cursing Edward to hell.

**Guys, I have 69 reviews right now. Which is one away from 70. And 70 is 30 away from 100. (Haha, aren't you proud of how much math I know?) Your record for a chapter right now is 14. I wonder what would happen if you doubled that number? That would put me awfully close to 30...hint hint...which would put me awfully close to 100....but, I don't think you can do it. (I'm using some reverse psychology here :-P). Can you prove me wrong, smash all records and give me 31 reviews? It's asking a lot, I know, but it would mean a very, very happy PrincessFerdinand. Actually, if every person who has this on alert would review this chapter, I would be there. Please? Please please please pretty please with cherries and sprinkles and caramel and chocolate sauce and bananas on top? **

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	8. Bella

**YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS OFF!!!!! Thirty-two reviews!!!! Now, I have 101!!! Ahh!!!**

**Many thanks to TheSingingGirl for her betaing, as usual. I made something like three mistakes in this chapter while getting the dialogue out of the book. You rock!**

Morning came slowly. I watched the sky change from black to inky blue to that odd mix between blue and gray that comes just before the sunrise.

The sunrise seemed muted that morning, perhaps because the clouds were fighting a valiant battle, trying to keep the sun from shining through.

The sun won. Colors splashed their way across the dull clouds and it was beautiful in a very subtle sort of way. It made me feel hollow, being alone for the sunrise. I missed having Jasper at my side.

Charlie stirred down the hall. I heard his footsteps pad to the bathroom and the door close.

I thought about how I would get out of breakfast this morning. I could dash down the hall right now, maybe, and be in the kitchen when he came down, then claim I had already eaten.

And then I had to decide what to do today, the next few days. I wouldn't leave today, or even tomorrow, but how long could I possibly stay? Until Edward could be reached? No – I was still supposedly a senior, attending a high school in LA. I was only on my Spring Break. I would have to go back within the week. Then I would hunt down Edward, call him again and again until he answered. He would not ignore me for long. He _would_ face her again. Soon. How could he not, once he knew what he had done?

I opened the door of Bella's bedroom quietly, slipped out. I was just at the top of the stairs when the toilet flushed and Charlie opened the door. He jumped a little when he saw me.

"Good morning, Alice," he said quietly, as though Bella were sleeping still in the next room and not a story below us. "Let's go sit in the kitchen. I'll make you breakfast. I need to talk to you about something."

There went the idea of skipping breakfast. Would I be forced to eat human food? I shivered a little at the prospect. I had never had to before, but I had heard horror stories from the others about how awful it was. Obviously, they had been exaggerating, but Edward was sincere, if still teasing, when he had told me about the awfulness of coughing up human food. I had seen him, after he had eaten that piece of pizza for Bella, and it was beyond disgusting.

Reluctantly, I followed Charlie down the stairs. We passed Bella, still sleeping on the couch. She looked so much more innocent, happy maybe, in sleep.

When we got to the kitchen, he gestured that I should take a seat and began to make coffee. "Is eggs and toast okay? I'm not sure what else we have…what with Harry and, well, other things, shopping hasn't really been a priority…" he trailed off, embarrassed.

I wondered if by _other things_ he meant a daughter in a severe stage of depression. Bella had used to do the shopping, hadn't she?

"Toast is fine," I assured him.

"Coffee?" he asked as the coffeemaker beeped noisily. He hastened to shut it off, lest it wake Bella. He turned on the oven, cracked two eggs into a pan.

"Please," I murmured. I didn't particularly want to spit up cold, bitter coffee; coughing up crusty bits of dried bread and gooey egg would have been enough, but a human would have had something to drink..

"Well…I wanted to talk to you about…Bella," he began awkwardly, "…when you left."

"How bad was it, Charlie?" I asked, dreading the answer. I had known this conversation would happen sooner or later, but I had been hoping for later. Never much of a procrastinator, this was one thing I could put off forever. I had been somewhat looking forward to it last night, but a night's worth of reflection and then that gorgeous sunrise…new days always seemed hopeful to me, mornings always happier than the night before, and it seemed a shame to stain this morning with depression.

Charlie sighed, and for the first time I noticed his face. Lined, creased, _old_…he seemed so much wearier than he had when we had left. I realized that these last months must have been almost as hard on him as they had been on Bella. Having to watch your daughter's happy life spiral into a living hell, not being able to do anything about it even though you knew exactly what would make it better…the father would be a hard role to play in this situation.

"Real bad," he said, and his head sank. His eyes were troubled in an agonized sort of way – the same sort of look you got when you watched kids being tortured on the news. Disturbed.

"Tell me about it," I demanded. "I want to know exactly what happened when we left." Hard as the conversation would be, I was curious, in a sick sort of way. I suppose I wanted proof of what I already knew, that Bella and Edward had been exactly the same since that fateful birthday.

I head a rustling from the other room, the sound of limbs popping as they stretched. Bella was awake. Had been for at least thirty seconds, it would appear. Would she come into the kitchen, interrupt this conversation that so desperately needed to be held? Or would she go back to sleep, unaware that she was being talked about? Or would she eavesdrop on us, curious?

Charlie switched off the stove, slid eggs on two plates, took the bread out of the toaster, and began to butter it while he spoke. "I've never felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do. That first week – I thought I was going to have to hospitalize her. She wouldn't eat or drink, she wouldn't move. Dr. Gerandy was throwing around words like _catatonic_, but I didn't let him up to see her. I was afraid it would scare her."

I could picture that, mostly because Edward had been the same way. He had stayed with us for two days, maybe, before going off on his own. He had stayed in his room. Esme was the only one who had visited him regularly, though he had always been in the back of my mind, and most of the time at the front, too. He didn't move for forty-eight hours. He sat at the edge of his bed in the house Esme had purchased in Ithaca, legs drawn up against his stomach, hands clasped about his knees. Much the same way he was when he did leave. He never moved from that position, except when he was fleeing from one house to another or the brief times when he hunted. At last count, he had hunted three times in the entire seven months.

But we were talking about Bella now, not Edward. Not that Charlie would care if Edward was suffering, if anything I had seen so far could be used as a clue.

"She snapped out of it, though?" I questioned. That Bella, the catatonic one, was not the one I had seen yesterday, thank God. Something had to have happened. These sorts of things didn't just stop over time.

"I had Renee come to take her to Florida. I just didn't want to be the one…if she had to go a hospital or something. I hoped being with her mother would help. But when we started packing her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. I've never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for tantrums, but boy, did she fly into a fury. She threw her clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn't make her leave – and then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn't argue when she insisted on staying here…" That seemed a bit contradictory to what he had just said, about not wanting to be the one. I didn't call him on it. It was a small detail, not necessary to this tale.

"And she did seem to be getting better at first."

It had been that way with Edward, too. When I had seen him hunting for the first time, about the first week into November, the family had celebrated for hours. This was a step. Was he healing? Would he come back? Of course, the answer to both was no, but I knew the feeling of which Charlie spoke. The false hope as you saw the victim get better, thinking the progress would be steady, and then the deadline, the falling hopes smashing around your feet.

"But?" I said. The _at first_ was impossible to miss.

"She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered when someone asked her a direct question. But she was…empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little things – she wouldn't listen to music anymore' I found a bunch of CDs broken in the trash. She didn't read; she wouldn't be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it so much before. I finally figured it out – she was avoiding everything that might remind her of…him."

It really was uncanny, the similarities between both Bella and Edward's experiences. Edward, too, had stopped listening to and playing music. He had been at the house only two days, but he had carefully packed away all the CDs that Esme had set up in his room, just before he left. He put a dust cover over his piano,

Strangely, Edward had always been a big fan of _American Idol_. It was odd – normally Edward took no interest in reality TV of any sort – he would glare at the TV whenever one began and mutter something about "sordid human affairs" and change the channel - but _American Idol_ was a different story. Every January he would eagerly tune to Fox to get his fix, and after every show he would studiously call in to vote for his favorites, hundreds of times if they really struck his fancy.

It really was unwonted, because _American Idol_ just seemed so…so _un-Edward_. All that drama, the drawn-out process of selecting which contestants were to go home, all the scripted dialogue and fake emotions…it seemed the kind of thing he would hate passionately. So it had surprised us all that first season when he had watched Kelly Clarkson obsessively. She had been his favorite since the beginning, and he had collected off of several bets with Jasper and Emmett at the end.

Since then, he had selected his favorite every year, and so far he had never been wrong. It was uncanny.

Perhaps the reason he found the show so addictive was because he was musical himself, that he could recognize true talent and who would become a washed-out, stereotypical celebrity within a few years. He loved finding new artists to listen to – in fact, though Edward generally hated country, Carrie Underwood had been a major exception to that.

But this January had come and gone, and he made no effort to find a TV to watch it at. It wasn't hard to guess why. The songs all seemed to be romantic, break-up and make-up songs, and Edward wanted nothing to do with it, nothing to do with anything. It had been heartbreaking to watch.

"We could hardly talk," Charlie continued. "I was so worried about saying something that would upset her – the littlest things would make her flinch – and she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something."

Again, that mirrored Edward's experience. I had barely been able to say a word to Jasper, even _Good morning_, without his visible flinch leaking into my peripheral vision. We had all looked forward to his visits – of course we had – but it had been nerve-wracking for all of us, trying to keep our minds of our spouses. Not to mention impossible

"She was alone all the time. She didn't call her friends back, and after a while, they stopped calling.

"It was the night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep…" Charlie trailed off, his expression pained. A shudder rumbled through his body.

'Night of the living dead', how ironically appropriate. Of course, Edward couldn't sleep, and he hadn't had any friends besides us – and obviously we would never stop talking to him – but he would be disconsolate when he learned that the thing that had once brought him so much joy, namely Bella's sleep-talking, had turned into such a nightmare, both literally and figuratively.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," I said, when it appeared he was done speaking. And I was. Sorry for both Bella _and_ Edward, that his plan had backfired. That neither party had shown any signs of moving on yet. That everyone connected to them in any way had to watch them get more and more depressed by the day, or even worse, show signs of faux improvement that turned out to be nothing.

"It's not _your_ fault," Charlie said, his voice hard. The words _I blame Edward_ hung awkwardly unspoken in the air. I fought back the urge to defend my brother, knowing that in a way he was right. "You were always a good friend to her."

Not good enough. I hadn't stopped Edward leaving, I hadn't even said goodbye. I recalled Edward's words perfectly and scorned them; how had a so-called 'clean break' helped her? I suddenly felt immensely guilty, even if I hadn't had a huge amount of choice.

I shifted in my seat, said, "She seems better now, though." And that was true, too. Evidently, the Bella Charlie was describing was not the Bella I had seen yesterday, though obviously even this Bella hadn't come close to healing yet.

"Yeah," Charlie said, and he seemed as relieved as I was to get away from his unspoken accusation. "Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I've noticed a real improvement," he said, forgetting that I should have no idea who he was. "She has some color in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She's happier. He's a year or so younger than her, and I know she used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe it's something more now, or headed in that direction anyway."

Obviously, Charlie wanted me to tell this to Edward, to let him know that Bella _was_ moving on, that she didn't need him anymore. I didn't know what Charlie meant by that. Hadn't he just told me that Bella hadn't been healing at all, not really? "Light in her eyes" and "color in her cheeks" didn't mean _happy_, they meant _not depressed_. There was a huge difference, and Charlie had to know that. Why was he exaggerating this relationship with Jacob? Could it just be to keep Edward away? Or did he really think their connection was that strong, nearly romantic?

"Jake's old for his years," he continued, defensive now, almost as though he was Edward and he could hear the doubt in my thoughts, "He's taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He's a good-looking kid, too – takes after his mom's side. He's good for Bella, you know."

Charlie was still stretching the truth, and I didn't know why. Maybe it was just his shield, the excuse he used to convince himself that Bella's condition wasn't as serious as it really was, that she was okay.

Nevertheless, no one could deny that Jacob _was_ good for Bella, at this point. She needed something good to lean on, someone who could support her in her fragile state. I wouldn't exactly condone a romantic relationship with a young werewolf, but he hadn't hurt her yet, and I didn't know all that much about the wolves when all was said and done. Maybe they weren't that bad. I'd have to ask Carlisle what he knew about them, but until then I'd give them the benefit of the doubt and just accept that Jacob was the best thing in Bella's life at the moment.

"Then it's good she has him," I told Charlie sincerely, if noncommittal to the rest of his words.

Charlie sighed, let his breath hiss over his teeth as he leaned back in his chair. "Okay, so I guess that's overstating things," he admitted, which was pleasing. He wasn't blind to the situation after all. "I don't know…even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I've ever grasped how much pain she's really in. It's not normal, Alice, and it…it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone…left her, but like someone _died_." The emphasis on his final word was slight but noticeable.

I relaxed a little, glad he wasn't burying his head on the sand. _This_ was more like what I had observed last night. Content, or close to it, on the outside, but raw globs of pain hiding just inside, waiting for those odd moments where she let her façade slip.

"I don't know if she's going to get over it," Charlie continued. "I'm not sure if it's in her nature to heal from something like this. She's always been such a constant little thing. She doesn't get past things, doesn't change her mind."

She was rather like Rose in that way, I reasoned. It had taken her so long, years and years, to get past what Royce King had done to her, and even longer to trust any man, Emmett included. I had watched it all through my visions, silently rooting her own when she felt like she couldn't.

"She's one of a kind," I agreed, though my thoughts contradicted my words. Yet she _was_ one of a kind, for a human. Humans changed, they healed and got over things. Even a heartbroken girl, given the better part of a year, should have started to heal. Rose was a vampire, frozen exactly when she would not want her emotional state to be stuck with her for eternity.

"And Alice…" Charlie said slowly, haltingly. "Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she's happy to see you, but…I'm a little worried about what your visit will do to her."

He finished awkwardly, flushing just a little, and waited on tenterhooks, as though I would be offended by his words.

"So am I, Charlie, so am I," I agreed. More than he knew. "I wouldn't have come if I had any idea. I'm sorry." That part _was_ a lie, but a necessary one. I would have come when I had seen Bella jump off that cliff even if I had been keeping tabs on her the whole time, had known exactly what had been going on.

"Don't apologize, honey," Charlie said paternally. "Who knows? Maybe it will be good for her."

I hoped for that too, more fervently than he could imagine. "I hope you're right," I said delicately.

Charlie had been facing the counter the whole time, buttering the toast, spreading on jam and pouring two cups of coffee, adding cream to his. He left mine black, and I wondered if he wasn't willing to ask or just assumed I would be the type to want it black.

He set the plate in front of me; I murmured "Thank you", probably too quiet for Bella, that little eavesdropper in the next room, to hear. I knew for certain now that she was listening in, since she was being far too still, but her heartbeat and breathing patterns were completely different to when she was sleeping. I wondered if she knew that I could tell she was eavesdropping.

Tentatively, I scooped a part of the egg on my fork and put it in my mouth. I chewed and swallowed as quickly as possible, but I could still taste the dry, unpalatable substance in my mouth.

My family had not been exaggerating.

Charlie didn't look at me as he ate his food, so I didn't have to control my expression, for which I was grateful.

I forced down the food and moved onto the coffee. I took one sip and knew right away I wouldn't be able to finish it. It had an acquired taste, even for humans, and for a vampire it was downright revolting.

Finally, after a few more horrible sips, Charlie said, his meal already finished, "Alice, I have to ask you something." He sounded dreadfully embarrassed.

"Go ahead," I said as calmly as possible, though I was wary. Charlie paused for a moment, thinking of his wording, but then I could see what he wanted to ask and I relaxed.

"He's not coming back to visit too, is he?" His anger was downright obvious, though I thought that maybe he was trying to hide it. If he was, he was failing miserably.

"He doesn't know that I'm here." Thank God. "The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America." Too late, I realize how that would sound. Sure enough, Charlie's eyes narrow.

"That's something at least," Charlie said disdainfully, as though I'd just confirmed his long-thought opinion. "Well, I hope he's enjoying himself."

My anger flared. I had been exceedingly tolerant of Charlie's thinly veiled insults directed toward my brother, but it had gone far enough. Charlie had the right to be angry, that couldn't be denied, but that didn't give him the right to make tactless, thoughtless assumptions when he had no idea of the truth.

My nostrils flared. "I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie," I said, working to keep the anger out of my voice.

Still, Charlie backed off at once, and took my plate to the sink, hoping to make amends. I could feel the undigested food in my stomach, giving a promise to what I would have to do later.

Bella chose that moment to "wake up" in the next room, yawning loudly and stretching. Her limbs popped again. The springs in the couch groaned as she moved.

Charlie went quiet immediately.

"Alice?" she called innocently.

"I'm in the kitchen, Bella," I called sweetly. _But you already knew that_.

Within minutes, apologizing profusely for being such a poor host, Charlie left. I knew he really did have to leave, but how much of his haste could I attribute to my presence? Was I reminding him too much of Edward? Had I really scared him when I warned him off assuming that Edward was having an easier time of it than Bella?

Never mind. My day with Bella had begun.

**Review contest is still on. Can you keep the momentum going? I hope so :-). Last time was so fantastic *sighs*.**


	9. Stories

**Sorry for the month-and-a-half gap. Again. Well, this chapter was definitely fun to write. So much more freedom than the others, as it's documented in about half a page in New Moon. **

Moments after the sound of Charlie's police cruiser faded away – for Bella, anyway, as I could hear it glide down the street and turn the corner - Bella sent me a weak smile. "So, what are we doing today?"

I regarded her for a moment. Why did she assume I would have a plan? I usually did, it was true, but this was her house, her town, her life that I was intruding upon. And truly, today I had no plan. I still needed to try and contact Carlisle, but I could see that he wouldn't be home yet.

"What would you do if I wasn't here?" I asked her, truthfully wondering how she would respond.

Her expression fell, and her hands clenched unconsciously on top of the table.

"Well…I would probably go down and visit Jake," she confessed, biting her lip and letting her hair fall down to hide her face.

Though the answer depressed me, I couldn't fault her for her honesty. I had asked her, expecting a truthful answer. It was wrong to be angry at her for doing what I asked just because I didn't like the answer.

"Well…" I said slowly, "Obviously, that's out of the question today."

"Yes," Bella said, obviously relieved that I wasn't visibly angry with her, and I felt a bit guilty I'd considered getting mad.

"So…before Jacob, what would you have done?" I pressed. I did not want to influence what we did today. A Day in the Life of a Catatonic Teenager. That would be a good name for a soap opera, I mused.

Bella twisted her hands and refused to look me in the eyes.

"Homework?" she said, asking a question.

I gave her a long, level look.

"What, that's what I would be doing!" she exclaimed defensively.

"But it's Spring Break," I pointed out.

"So? I still have homework."

"Nine days' worth? Come on, Bella."

"Look, if you really want to know the truth," Bella said wildly, having floundered through excuses and now resigned to the truth. "If you really want to know, I would do anything and everything I could get my hands on. I would clean the back of the oven or underneath the refrigerator or just do _anything_ to stay busy. I alphabetized my bookshelf over Christmas break," she confessed.

I sighed. I had worried that her answer would be something like this.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" she asked sharply, still defensive after her outburst.

"What do you want to do today?"

She was silent, caught off-guard by my simple question. But truly, I was done playing games. I had heard enough details of her pathetic life since Edward left. Internally, I scolded myself for using such a strong word, but I knew that it was true. Bella's life had been pathetic. I cursed Edward internally, again. I had probably thought worse of him more often in the last forty-eight hours than I had in the decades I had known him.

"Anything, Alice," Bella breathed. "Whatever you want to do."

I sighed again, giving up the hope of a non-biased opinion from Bella.

"Well, we can't exactly go out – I hope you don't mind." I couldn't just publicly appear and then dramatically vanish again.

Bella shook her head. "No."

And that was all I could coax out of her, one-word or sentence-long answers, excepting the one outburst. Finally, in exasperation I suggested we play a game. Bella agreed, of course, and I beat her soundly at Battleship, Trivial Pursuit, and Scrabble. Charlie's board games were a rather limited selection, so we finally settled on Double Solitaire and played for hours, game after game.

Though I found Solitaire only mildly amusing in small doses, and only ever with Edward since with everyone else there was barely a point in playing neither of us were really paying attention to the game. Every time I glanced up, Bella was staring at my face in loving awe. I was trying to see into the somewhat patchy future to see what would happen in these next climatic few days.

Finally, midway through our fourth game of Solitaire, Bella asked me sharply, "Alice, where's the rest of your family? What have they been doing?"

I wondered if she was speaking in double meanings again. Did she truly mean the rest of my family, or did she mean Edward? And if she really wanted to know about my family, did that include Edward too?

I decided that any mention of Edward to her would hurt her, even if it left her curiosity lusting, and I would not be the one to bring it up.

"Well," I began slowly, absentmindedly placing a string of cards on one of our shared aces so quickly Bella shot me a dirty look, "we relocated to Ithaca, New York. The National Register of Historic Places hired Esme to restore this dilapidated old house right outside the city. It's a beautiful place, really, but so run-down the Register was afraid to even make it into a museum. It's really quaint, though, you'd love it. She and Carlisle found this cute little cottage that they're living in. He's working nights at the hospital in Ithaca and he's teaching theology at Cornell, he loves it…"

I kept talking and talking, filling Bella in. After five minutes of my voice, it began to grate on my own nerves, and I monitored Bella's expression carefully to see if it was doing the same to her. It was quite the opposite, though – she sat enthralled, completely forgetting about the Solitaire as I spoke. I wondered if she really had wanted to know about my family in the first place or just wanted to hear me talk.

I continued on about how we had flagged the town as very relaxing, very low-key – definitely one to come back to in a few dozen years. How Carlisle loved the theology courses he was teaching, how it was a nice thing to come back to after a harsh night at the hospital, from the black-and-white life and death to the much more hazy, unclear subject of theology. He loved it so much that he was seriously looking at other theology programs at other universities, thinking that when it was time to move on from Ithaca he might go back to school and take it again. He had majored in it, as far as I knew, twice before, once at Oxford and once at an old Italian university just after he left the Volturi, but they had both been so long ago he had forgotten how calming it had been.

I told her how Emmett and Rosalie, to escape the dismal atmosphere surrounding everyone since September, had gone to Europe on another honeymoon. They had left just after Christmas, not wanting to break Esme's heart even further by not being home for Christmas. They had just returned a few weeks ago, flying directly from London to Anchorage before running up to Denali.

I gave a few fleeting sentences on Jasper, how he was studying philosophy at Cornell, too. I didn't elaborate. I missed Jasper probably more than I should have after only being gone a few days, but after being apart from him for months I had only been reunited for a couple of days in Denali, and that had been interrupted by our fight over my return.

Finally, I told Bella of what I had been doing. I had left a few weeks after Emmett and Rosalie had, because I, too, knew how it would hurt Esme if we weren't all together for Christmas. Neither of us had wanted to leave before that, either – we all knew that more separation would do nothing to help the grief we were all feeling, even it if was nearly unbearable to begin with.

So just after Christmas, I left. Jasper had not come with me, and that had been hard – I had expected him to be there for me, with me when I found out about the life I had been searching for ever since I realized I knew nothing about it.

But he had declined. "This is for you to do, Alice," he had said to me when I asked him to come with me. "I shouldn't and don't need to come with you."

I had not completely understood his reasons, but he would not be swayed, and I had departed. I supposed we couldn't leave Carlisle and Esme completely without their children, and his gift would definitely come in useful for Esme in particular.

I had found the asylum quickly, much more quickly than I would have thought. What had taken the bulk of the time was finding a way to access the records, to be sure this was the place. Finally, I had had to break in, and there it was, everything I needed to know. Paired with all the old newspapers and a visit to my sister's daughter's house pretending to be a representative from the false American Life Society had told me everything almost everything I needed to know. What it hadn't told me was what I _wanted_ to know.

"My name was Mary Alice Brandon," I told Bella, and she looked at me, eyes wide and surprised. "I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughter – my niece – is still alive in Biloxi."

Meeting with my niece – her name had been Evelyn – had been a surreal experience. Finally knowing that my life did exist, that there were people who were related to me, flesh-and-blood…it was something I had never had proof of before.

Innocently, I had informed Evelyn that I had been going through some old newspapers and found that her mother had had a sister. What did she know about Mary Alice?

"My mother…I asked her once, what had happened to Mary," Evelyn had said. "And she told me that she didn't know. She had been born after Mary had…disappeared, if that's what you want to call it. The only way she knew that Mary had existed at all was the day her parents died and she saw her grave. She was devastated. What had happened to her sister? Finally she learned. Her sister had gone to an asylum. Her parents hushed it all up, pretended she didn't exist. Can you believe that? Her parents tried to forget their own child."

Politely I had agreed that it was an abysmal thing to do, thanked Evelyn, and left.

I didn't share all this with Bella, but she had come to much the same conclusion as Evelyn had by herself. "Did you find out why they put you in…. that place? What would drive parents to that extreme? Even if their daughter saw visions of the future…"

I shook my head – I didn't know. Neither did Evelyn. No one could possibly know except my parents themselves, and they had been buried nearly fifty years ago.

"I couldn't find much about them. I went through all the old newspapers on microfiche. My family wasn't mentioned often' they weren't part of the social circle that made the papers. My parents' engagement was there, and Cynthia's. My birth was announced…and my death. I found my grave. I also filched my admissions sheet from the old asylum archives. The date on the admission and the date on my tombstone are the same." It was the only information I could give Bella, the straight facts. I didn't know any more. I wondered if it was better that I didn't know any more, that I didn't know why my mother and father had shut me away and declared me dead. Perhaps it was.

Bella didn't say anything, and the silence sat uncomfortably between us. When it grew unbearable, hastily I said, "So, I expect you want to know where we all are now."

She blinked. "You're no longer in Ithaca? What happened? Did Jasper-"

I narrowed my eyes only slightly. Why would she automatically jump to conclusions about Jasper? He wasn't weak. He could control himself. Then again, she hadn't known him as well as the rest of us did, and the only times she'd been around him, he'd been keeping his distance. Both before and after the party, I'd continually told him that he was stronger than he thought, but he was always prudent about Bella's safety. After the birthday party, he'd been agonizing for months that he shouldn't have been there at all, and it was only after a great deal of persuasion that he eventually took the philosophy course in person, rather than by correspondence. And I knew Bella didn't mean any harm in her questions. She was only taking what she already knew and applying it to what I had said, filling in the blanks.

"No, nothing happened. There haven't been any incidents," I informed her haughtily, proudly. "Emmett and Rosalie came back right at Spring Break. It was also about the same time I finished with my research – all I could find, anyway. We all – well, nearly all - met in Denali to visit Tanya's coven."

Bella nodded, her face blank.

And that was as close as we got all day to mentioning Edward.

When the sky got dark, Bella made herself dinner and we continued to talk – about my family, mostly. Bella was insatiable creature when it came to news of the Cullens. I wondered how healthy it was for her. Like a recovering alcoholic going through withdrawal and then having eight drinks in one night. It would mess with her head.

At about nine that night, Charlie came home. He looked positively exhausted, the lines on his face deeper, if possible, then they had been that morning. He gave me a weak smile and Bella a more genuine one, obviously noting how much brighter her eyes looked after just one day with me. I wondered if he would think that was a good thing, if he knew the whole story.

Quickly, Bella catered to her father, getting him dinner while he sat staring blankly at nothing. I didn't try to talk him, recalling our earlier conversation. He had had a hard enough day as it was.

When he was finished with his dinner, Charlie pushed back his chair, placed his plate in the sink, and announced tiredly, "I'm going to bed. I've got to get down to the rez early tomorrow for…for the funeral. I'm sorry, Alice, that I haven't been a better host."

I assured him that I didn't blame him in the slightest. It was my fault, after all, for coming right after a dear friend's death.

Bella and I stayed up much later, almost till midnight. Still she asked me question after question about my family, until finally I put my foot down.

"Bella. Enough. We have done nothing but talk about me all day."

She retreated automatically, backing into herself like a hermit crab, and I sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but this isn't healthy for you. Informational overload. We can talk more in the morning if you want, but you must be tired. The couch can't be the most comfortable place in the world to sleep. Go on up to your room, and I'll see you in the morning."

"No!" Bella said emphatically. I looked at her.

"I mean, no, I don't want to go to my room. Can't I stay down here with you again?"

I wondered why on earth this would be important to her, but decided not to ask. She would have her reasons, and probably I didn't want to know them.

"Fine."

She gave me a smile, a real one, and bounded off to get the bedding that she had just finished putting away.

When she came back, she slid back onto the couch and I watched her fall asleep.

It was getting harder to leave her every moment I stayed. Even going back for just a few days now would be difficult, very difficult. How could I leave her at all unless I knew for sure that Edward would come back to her? It was obvious now that by coming I had created more problems than if I had just stayed in Denali with Jasper.

The problem was, it was too late to change it, and I didn't want to. The pull of Bella was too irresistible.

**Hmm...you guys went from 32 reviews to 7. Not cool. How did that happen? It made me sad, whatever the reason. Could you please try and get it up over 10 this time? That'd be nice. Thanks :-).**


	10. Theory

**Many thanks to TheSingingGirl. Sorry for the wait. Again.**

The night was long.

I, for one, didn't see how Edward stood to lie there night after night watching Bella sleep. It was boring.

I wanted to call Jasper. I wondered what he was doing. Probably reading. That's what he always did when I wasn't around. Though he did it when I _was_ around a fair amount too.

I searched for his future. It didn't take long, as I checked his so often. Yup, sure enough, he was curled up in our bedroom, a book in his hands. His phone rested right beside him. I wondered if he was just hoping I would call, or if he was debating calling me himself. I wondered what made him decide against it.

In the vision, the phone vibrated. He picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, and then his face lit up. _Alice?_

The vision went dark. I didn't know yet what I would say. I only knew I wanted to call him.

I ducked into the bathroom, just in case Charlie woke up and wandered downstairs for a midnight snack. I didn't see it happening, but I wasn't exactly trusting what I saw these days. Plus, it wouldn't have been like he planned to wake up, anyway. I wouldn't be able to see it until a few seconds before it happened.

I dialed Jasper's number. He answered partway through the first ring, just as I had seen.

"Alice?"

"Jasper. Hi."

"Alice, what's wrong? Are you okay? Is it because of Bella?" His voice sounded panicked.

"Nothing's wrong. I just...wanted to call you. What are you doing?"

" Alice, something's wrong. I can tell. Tell me."

"No, Jasper, actually, everything's perfect. Well, not perfect, but so much better than I thought it would be...Bella's alive. She wasn't committing suicide, and she's not dead."

There was stunned silence for a moment. Finally, he said, "But you saw-"

"I saw her jump off a cliff. Oh, Jasper, there's so much you don't know..."

Quickly, I filled him in. He broke in, asking questions, mostly about the werewolves. I didn't touch upon how much I wasn't seeing. I let him draw his own conclusions.

"Oh, Alice..." he said when I was finally done talking. "What are you going to do? When are you coming back?"

"I don't know. I just don't know what to do. How to tell Edward what Bella's like. How to leave Bella, even for a few moments. I wish you were here."

"I wish I was there."

_Come_, I wanted to say. _Come then. _But I knew that wouldn't help. I also knew he'd refuse.

"I'll be home in a few days." _I hope._

"I know. That doesn't mean I don't wish you were here right now."

We were silent for a few moments. I listened to his steady breathing. It was comforting.

"He'll be furious with me," I whispered. I didn't have to say it was Edward I was talking about.

"Not when you tell him why you went. He'll understand."

"And my visions. I'm missing things, there's people I can't see..."

Jasper was silent. Thinking? Trying to figure out how to comfort me? I waited for his words with baited breath.

"The people you can't see..are they always in the company of werewolves?" Jasper's tone was musing; obviously he was thinking hard.

I hadn't seen Bella come up after she had jumped off the cliff, but she had said Jacob, the werewolf, had saved her.

I hadn't been able to see Charlie, but he had been at the reservation, because of his friend who'd died.

And I couldn't see Jacob, but he was a werewolf himself...

"Yes, they all are. Do you think it's something to do with the werewolves?" I asked, thrilled with this new theory. That would solve so much.

"That's the only conclusion I can think of, Ally...Are you sure you're okay? I can come down there if you need me to... What if Victoria comes after Bella? What if you get hurt protecting her?"

"No, no...I'm fine. According to Bella, the wolves have her under control. She thinks Victoria will be dead within a few days," I assured him, though I was less able to put my trust in them.

I ached to say yes to Jasper's query, but I knew it would hurt more than it would help. It was hard enough to explain why _I_ had unexpectedly showed back up in Forks. Jasper would complicate things unnecessarily, no matter how I wished otherwise. Better that Edward be livid at me rather than both of us. I could talk to him by phone until I returned. I would be fine.

"Okay..." Jasper hesitated. "I just miss you."

"I miss you, too," I told him, though I knew we had already established that we missed each other. The words meant nothing; it was his voice I craved.

"I love you," Jasper said softly.

"I love you, too," I repeated back.

We were quiet for a moment.

"I should probably go," I said.

"Do you have to?" Jasper asked. My heart softened. Jasper sounded almost...helpless. This word sounded so ridiculous when applied to Jasper it was laughable.

"I...I guess I could stay a little longer," I said, laughing at myself internally. I was such a pushover when it came to Jasper.

We talked for a while, saying nothing of consequence. Jasper read a bit from the book he was reading, another philosophy tome of which he had hundreds.

Finally, I heard Charlie stir upstairs. He rolled over, and his heartbeat sped up. Was he waking up? I glanced ahead to a few minutes into the future and saw that he was indeed stumbling sleepily toward the shower. I wondered what the cause was for his early start; it was only just past six. The funeral was today - what time had he said it was? Ten. So if he were to help prepare, it would make sense to be down there at about seven. I tried to see the funeral itself - I had just enough connection to Charlie to try - but there was nothing.

I ducked out of the bathroom back to the recliner in which I had sat the first half of the night. Bella was still sleeping on the couch; she showed no signs of waking, though I saw she would awake when Charlie creaked down the stairs, inadvertently stepping on the ones that made the most noise.

While waiting for Charlie to leave so I wouldn't have to pretend I was asleep anymore, I thought about what Jasper had said.

Was it really the wolves who were blocking my vision? Or was it something else, and the wolves were merely a ready-made scapegoat? It made sense that the wolves were the cause. Their natural instinct was to destroy vampires; it might make sense that there was something genetic that blocked vampire's powers from working. Though if this were the case, Edward would not be able to read their minds. I wondered if he could. I would have to ask him.

I shivered at the thought of the looming conversation I would have to have with him. He would be so angry, both rightfully at himself for what he had done and for me for breaking my word. Tough. I was angry at him too.

I assumed I would have many chances to test the new theory; unless Bella drastically began to change her ways, the wolves were fast becoming a major part of her life. I wondered how Edward would react to that. He would surely be beyond furious - after all, he could not stand to see Bella in danger, no more than Jasper could for me.

I tried to think of what else could have been the cause. I had been through high school science enough times to know that to find the stimulus of an unexpected event, you had to find the variable that had been changed.

My visions had worked in Forks before, so it couldn't have been a change in the atmosphere. That made little sense anyway, as nothing physical should have disrupted my gift. Besides, the first faulty vision I had seen hadn't happened in Forks.

Maybe the depression which I had been going through could have had some sort of effect on what I saw? They both took place in the mind; maybe if it was so worn down from battling the constant pain of losing both Bella and Edward that I simply didn't have the mind power to generate visions anymore. Maybe in order to accommodate the strain the last few months had had on all of us, my mind had had to get rid of other things - namely, my visions.

But that didn't make sense either. For once, things had actually seemed to be getting better when the first vision happened. I had found out my past; I was reunited with Jasper and the rest of my family after a two-month separation; we were all together, visiting family we had not seen in a few years. We had also been expecting a call from Edward, as it had been more than three months since we had last heard from him. We all waited for those calls with mixed feelings - sadness, because every time it was the same: _I'm not coming back_, but mostly happiness because we all loved talking to him, no matter how unresponsive he may be.

If my visions had to do with my emotional climate, there had been other times, times when things had seemed so hopeless, that should have triggered this faultiness.

It seemed that all that was left to blame was the wolves.

If so, it was really too bad. I knew it would be hard enough for me - for all of our family - to accept the werewolves' presence in Forks and in Bella's life; knowing that they blocked my visions would make it that much harder to tolerate them.

The stairs creaked, just as I had seen they would. Charlie was coming down, hair wet and neatly combed, wearing a suit that seemed more fitted to the eighties than to nearly thirty years later.

It was rather ridiculous how much joy I got from seeing my vision of Charlie waking Bella up come true, when usually it wouldn't even register any excitement at all, Just further deepening of my knowledge that I could see the future. But now even the littlest visions that were fulfilled were reasons to celebrate. It was odd, and unnerving.

Charlie had been about to say something - maybe good morning or some such thing, but when he saw we were both sleeping, he immediately closed his mouth and tiptoed toward the door.

Seeing a man like Charlie on his tiptoes, trying to be as delicate as possible, was extremely funny. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

The moment the door closed and I heard his car start, I sat up in the chair I was pretending to sleep in. Bella opened her eyes, too, though I knew she was already awake.

She smiled, only slightly, barely noticeable, but I knew why. It was because I was here. I hadn't run off in the night. I would now be in her sight for the next fifteen hours, at least, and she wouldn't have to worry again until tonight.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked her, loathe to start that game up again but unable to think of anything to suggest.

"I don't know - do you see anything interesting happening?"

"No. But it's still early." I smiled a dry smile and didn't mention that just because I didn't see it didn't mean that it wasn't going to happen.

Hearing the unspoken question behind her words, I automatically searched the near future - five minutes from now, nothing. Bella was eating a bowl of cold cereal while we discussed our plans for the day. Just ten minutes after that, she was opening the door to a closet and pulling out cleaning supplies. An hour from now, still nothing. Bella cleaning while I watched her. We were chatting lightly, about nothing serious. But an hour and a half from now, Bella was gone. I saw myself running through the woods, searching for a small deer or elk to take down, just to get myself in the habit of hunting regularly again. It seemed like something I would do just to pass time - Bella must be doing something I could not or would not intrude upon.

I didn't let my dismay at this blind spot show; instead, I tried to tell myself this was a prime opportunity to test Jasper's theory. If this blind spot was because of a werewolf - say, Jacob showing up unexpectedly - I would use that as final proof that that was what was causing the holes. If not - well, it would be back to the drawing board.

I let the conversation progress as I had seen it would in my speed through the future. Bella and I wandered toward the kitchen and she poured herself breakfast. When it appeared I had no ideas for the day, she cautiously suggested she clean up a little - she felt the house was in a disgusting state of disarray after all the time she had been spending in La Push.

I did not mention that what was so unbearably messy for Bella now was the constant state of the house before Edward had left. That she had spent so much time obsessively cleaning after he had left that now anything less than what would pass a white glove inspection was entirely unacceptable in her view. And she didn't even realize how much her standards had changed.

Bella retrieved the supplies from the closet and headed towards the bathroom. I followed her, watching as she began to scrub out the bathtub.

"So, how have your friends been?" I asked casually as she began to scrub at the bottom of the tub.

I didn't call them _my_ friends - though I had gotten to know them fairly well the last two months of junior year and the first two weeks of this year, I found them nice enough, but, like most humans, fairly tedious. I knew that Bella herself didn't particularly like several of the students she was friends with, but I did know who she truly cared about.

She didn't answer. I wondered if she was trying to think of an answer, or if she was just choosing not to answer.

"Are Angela and Ben still together?" I prodded.

"Um...I think so," she said absentmindedly, still scrubbing hard.

"They've been together a long time, then. They're almost at the year mark, aren't they?"

"Yes, I think so," she repeated.

"Are they going to the same college? Do you think their relationship will survive once high school is over?" I asked, trying to get Bella to volunteer some information of her own.

She didn't answer again, not for a long time. I let the silence drag on, just waiting for an answer. She continued rubbing at the same spot on the bathtub floor, though even my eyes couldn't see any films of grime or specks of dirt.

"I think they're really serious," she said finally. "I think Angela really loves him. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up married."

Her voice sounded uncertain, maybe a little guilty. I figured she must have been embellishing what she knew, maybe even totally making it up based on a few flimsy inferences. This matched up with what Charlie had told me about her yesterday in the kitchen.

"Well, what about Mike? Has he found love yet?" If she answered, affirmatively, maybe I could inform Edward of this fact to calm him down when I was telling him how I broke my promise and came back. Surely it would make him happy to know that Mike was in a serious relationship and no longer a real threat to Bella. Or else he would just yell at me for throwing trivial details into the conversation.

"No, I don't think so," she said after another pause. "He and Jessica haven't gotten back together. I think she might be going out with Conner."

I thought of Conner, a short, stocky boy who had always seemed on the outskirts of Bella's group of friends. I found it hard to believe snobbish, gossipy Jessica would go out with him for more than a pity date. But maybe I was confusing Jessica with Lauren Mallory.

"Have things between you and Lauren gotten any better?" I asked, thinking this question at least would be easy, since it involved her.

"Um...no, not really," Bella said, blushing a little.

Was she lying again? How could she not know?

"She still hates me. I'm not sure why, anymore. It's not like there's anything to be jealous of." The worst part of this statement was that she didn't sound wistful, or even bitter. Just resigned.

I didn't know what to say. _Bella, don't say that again. You are a beautiful human being with plenty to be jealous of. _Somehow, that seemed too mom-ish. Plus I knew she wouldn't believe me anyway. I was sure so many people had told her how lucky she was, how she wasn't doing herself any favors by locking herself away the way she was, that the words ceased to mean anything to her anymore.

We continued chatting for a while. A corner of my mind was keeping track of the time, counting down the minutes to when Bella's future disappeared. I strongly considered asking Bella if she was expecting anyone today, but decided against it. She would have told me, I was sure of it.

The doorbell rang.

I could see myself creeping out Charlie's bedroom window to the ground twenty-five feet below.

Bella looked to me, a question in her eyes. It was obvious she didn't know who it was.

The smell began to permeate the house, seeping under the cracks in the doors until it reached the bathroom. It was muted by the sharp smell of the cleaning supplies Bella was using, but it was easily identifiable. It was the same smell that had stuck to Bella two days ago, the traces of which I could still smell on her now. It was, without a doubt, werewolf. Jacob, to be precise.

Which meant Jasper was right. I couldn't see the wolves.

"Hold on!" Bella shouted, breaking through my thoughts for a moment. She got up to wash off her hands.

I was mad. This seriously changed things. Obviously, it would be difficult enough to remain in Forks with the wolves; I could only hope they too were sticking to the treaty Carlisle had set up with the old generation. But I knew it would make my entire family uneasy that I couldn't see what they were planning. Assuming we moved back, a sneak attack would be, for the first time, entirely possible.

Since I couldn't see their futures, there was a very good possibility that Edward could not read their minds. This would annoy him to no end.

Assuming the family would move back here once we got a hold of Edward, and assuming Bella would not give up her apparent "friendship" with Jake so easily, this lack of visions would also pose problems. Edward would be extremely hesitant if not flat-out against Bella and Jacob visiting each other, even with the safeguard of my visions. Without them, he would be flat-out panicked. I couldn't see him allowing it at all. But Bella would not give in so easily if this friendship was as serious as I thought it might be...

Ah, well. The course of true love never did run smooth, after all. Those two would have to work it out for themselves. I did not envy not having to be there for that conversation.

Bella turned off the faucet and started walking toward the stairs, obviously assuming I would follow her.

"Bella," I called after her. She stopped and turned. "I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out."

More than a fairly good guess. I was fairly positive.

"Guess?" Bella repeated, looking confused. I knew what she was thinking. But times had changed.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black or one of his...friends." I hesitated to use the term _friend_, more like _comrade-in-arms_, as they obviously didn't have any choice in whether or not they joined the pack. Who knew how deep their bonds went? Maybe they were just as likely to stab each other in the back as to help each other.

Bella looked at me blankly. I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. _Click_, went the gears as she figured it out. "You can't _see_ werewolves?" she questioned incredulously.

Way to rub it in, Bella. Like I wasn't stinging over this defeat enough already. "So it would seem," I said, working to keep my voice level with as much calm as I could infuse. It was obvious Bella saw right through my facade. Oh, well. Maybe she would pass it on to her friend how much I was pissed at him right now. Scare him a little. Though he would probably take pleasure in my annoyance. He would probably find it funny.

Bella looked at me for one second more. The doorbell rang twice more. Rude. She had already told him she was on her way. His hearing must be nearly as good as ours.

Some sort of resolve firmed in her eyes. "You don't have to go anywhere, Alice," she said. "You were here first."

I laughed darkly. Me, in the same room with a werewolf? _I_ could control myself - probably. I would be irritated and snappish, but I wouldn't attack him. Jacob, on the other hand, or whoever else it may be - if he was as young a werewolf as Bella had said, he would be extremely volatile. He might snap and phase just by being in my presence. Even if he didn't, it wouldn't take much more than a pointed, sarcastic comment or a dirty look to get us at each other's throats. Bella, once again, did not understand the danger she would be in.

"Trust me - it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together," I said, summing up my thoughts into one sentence so she could answer the door. I could practically feel his impatience from here.

I kissed Bella's cheek. I would go hunting, resist the urge to eavesdrop, and come back in an hour. Whatever Jacob had to do, it wouldn't take that long.

I ducked through the doorway to Charlie's room. I didn't particularly want to invade Charlie's privacy this way, but what choice did I have? I couldn't go downstairs. Bella was already gone, about to open the door.

I opened the window - it squeaked loudly on its way up, but I ignored it. I would have to come back in and close the window before Charlie got home - maybe I would oil it then.

The doorbell rang a fourth time as I sprinted into the woods. I looked toward the street and saw an unfamiliar car, obviously Jacob's, by the driveway. The engine was still running, and two small figures were hunched inside it. Jacob's friends, come to protect him, ready to provide a quick getaway? Ha. Like we couldn't outrun that outdated car.

The urge to turn back and eavesdrop was so strong I almost couldn't resist it as I ran out of hearing distance. I made a deal with myself. If I was good and didn't turn back now, I would shorten my exile by half and go back in just thirty minutes. Jacob would, most probably, be gone by then anyway. If he wasn't - well, then they obviously needed some supervision. Though Bella insisted their relationship was platonic, Charlie's words and my own instinct told me it was something much more for Jacob. A little coercion, just a hint of agreement from Bella - things could get out of hand quickly.

If Bella sounded like she wanted it that way, I told myself, then I wouldn't stop her. But if she sounded unsure in any way, Jacob's head would come off. I could promise myself that much.

Of course, I was probably over thinking things. Jacob would be gone by the time I came back. Their relationship was exactly what Bella had said it was.

At least, I hoped. Some conversation that would be: "Hey, Edward, I went to see Bella because I thought she was dead, you half killed her by leaving her, oh, and did I tell you she's now going out with a werewolf who I can't see?"

I ran even faster, extending my legs as far as they could go and pushing off the ground so I wasn't really running so much as leaping through the forest. I desperately wanted to be back at the house. I hoped it would take a while to find an animal to drink, to distract me.

No such luck. I found a doe in less than two minutes, and I was done in five. I had twenty-five more minutes to kill.

I couldn't do it. With a weary sigh, I was headed back through the woods toward the house.

I was so weak.

**Okay. I shall try to get the next one up faster. I promise.**

**Also: I started a community, Finally Some Canon. If you're into canon, which you probably are if you're reading this, go check it out. Let me know if you want to be a staff member or something. (Also, tell me if you know how to delete them. I actually made it by mistake and cannot for the life of me figure out how to delete them.)**


	11. The Comeback of Jasper

**I know. I'm sorry. I'm suckish at updating. I'd say I'll update faster this time, but it'd probably be a lie.**

The house was silent as I approached it. Nearly silent, anyway. Two heartbeats and two slow sets of breathing were all that marred the silence. They weren't talking, they weren't even moving, which surely wouldn't have been the case if they were engaged in…questionable activities.

I crept around to the back of the house, lithely leaped onto the porch and snuck up to the window, hoping to see what was going on. Just as I was about to peer into the window, Jacob spoke. "Bella?" He sounded worried. What was wrong?

Bella didn't answer. Silently, I stepped back off the porch, hoping Jacob wouldn't catch how strong my lingering scent at the back door was and know I was here. I backpedaled, far into the woods, as far as I could go but still hear the words being spoken.

"Did it again, didn't I?" Jacob pressed.

"Did what?" Bella asked listlessly. She sounded weary, exasperated…but mostly sad. I could hear how she was trying to hold back tears.

"Broke my promise. Sorry."

"'S'okay," she said, her voice sounding muffled, like she was hiding it in her hands. Or maybe she just felt ashamed at whatever had just happened. "I started it this time."

Maybe Jacob had _tried_ to kiss her and she had resisted? Or the other way around? Maybe Jacob's promise had been not to push her to do anything she wasn't sure about. Maybe she had given some sort of sign, knowingly or unknowingly, and Jacob had responded with too much enthusiasm, and it was too much for Bella? Or maybe Jacob had stopped them, knowing that Bella was still having trouble getting over Edward, and too much at once would only intensify the betrayal she would obviously be feeling?

Either way, I thought with a pang of disappointment, Bella saying _I started it this time_ meant I couldn't take off Jacob's head. I would uphold that part of my imaginary bargain with myself, at least. I wondered what Bella would do if she knew she had just saved the dog's life.

There was silence for a moment, and then, so smoothly I didn't notice it was happening, the scene in front of me dissolved and I was off, floating away to view someone else's future…

Rosalie, standing alone in Tanya's living room, a phone in her hand. She looked smug, a little troubled. She dialed a number, held the phone up to her ear, and waited while it rang. After a few moments, she hit a button - redial, maybe? - and listened again.

Who was she calling? Why was it so important that my mind had automatically focused on it with its full attention? She was staying in the same house as Carlisle, Jasper, and Esme, and that meant I could only think of one thing that would answer both questions - Edward. If _Rosalie_ was calling Edward, something serious had happened. But why was she calling Edward first, not me, who might have seen something about it and was infinitely easier to reach?

Unless - but no, she couldn't be. Wouldn't be. She wouldn't be calling Edward because of what I had seen, or what I had _thought _I'd seen?

She couldn't be telling Edward Bella was dead!

But she must be.

_"Oh, wow. Edward answered the phone. I feel so honored_," Rosalie said in my vision.

Oh, Rose…

Even if it telling him over the phone was the right way, the only way, to tell Edward what she thought had happened - which it wasn't - how could she still be her usual snarky, sarcastic self? Wasn't she saddened at all by Bella's death? Didn't she have any idea of how Edward would take the news? And if she did, why wasn't she respecting that, instead of just acting like nothing serious was wrong? _Hi, Edward - no, we're all fine here, but by the way, have you heard Bella died? She jumped off a cliff. But listen, I think I'm going to buy that new model Lamborghini, I've heard it's fantastic…_

Evidently, Edward had hung up, because Rosalie pursed her lips, frowned, and redialed the phone again. She glared at herself in the mirror as she did so, then relaxed her face into a smile and smoothed her hair. Always so vain.

Still, Rosalie was my sister. I knew her better than anybody else, excepting Jasper of course. But I would say that I did know her better than anyone else in my family. And I knew that she didn't do emotional, that she didn't do sentimental, and the more she felt emotional and sentimental, the less she showed it. She wouldn't care about Bella's supposed death, but she definitely cared about Edward. Therefore she thought she was doing the right thing. I could understand what she was thinking, but that didn't mean I wasn't furious at her. Stupid, stupid…

_"Get on with it_," Edward said sharply over the phone. I didn't need to be a mind reader to hear he was about to hang up again.

Rosalie heard it too, and said all in a rush, "_I just thought you would want to know that Alice is in Forks."_

That dirty rat fink!

I smiled to myself at the thought of the old-fashioned expression. It was amazing what habits you picked up in a few lifetimes of high school, though of course no one used the term nowadays. I sounded like a little kid. _And by the way, you're not my friend anymore!_

My smile evaporated as the real anger swooped in to take its place. Was I wrong, then, about Rosalie's intentions in her phone call to Edward? Was she truly only calling him to rat me out? What could possibly be her motive behind that, what could she possibly gain? Edward would come racing back to Forks, with desire for my murder gleaming in his eyes. Jasper would, obviously, make Edward calm down before coming within miles of me, and then I would inform Edward, in very plain terms, exactly what an ass he was.

But that couldn't be Rosalie's motive, because she didn't care whether Edward and Bella got back together or not. Well, she did care. She'd much rather they wouldn't. As far as she was concerned, Bella's only redeeming quality was that she made Edward happy , and then she thought that was pointless because making him happy now would only make him sadder later. And she would almost sacrifice Edward's happiness just to never have to lay eyes on that little human face ever again.

Had I done something to upset Rosalie? I couldn't think of anything, unless she was mad I had rushed off to Forks, thereby choosing Bella over her. Or maybe she really was upset I had broken my word to Edward.

Or maybe her tattling to Edward was merely a prelude to her horrendous news. To get him all nice and angry before breaking his heart. That was just plain cruel.

Or maybe…and it was so obvious I felt like smacking myself on the forehead for not thinking of this before…maybe she was simply telling Edward what had happened. Jasper had told her what had happened and she was simply reporting it on to him.

I felt almost ashamed I had automatically assumed the worst of her, but she had done the selfish thing so many times I couldn't really feel guilty. Who even cared what I felt anymore?

_"What?"_ Edward said to Rosalie over the phone, and it wasn't really a question. More of a placeholder, just something to say while his anger took control of him.

_"You know how Alice is - thinks she knows everything. Like you_." I stiffened angrily at this, but I had to admit she had a point. Too often I went on and on about what I had seen, when it wasn't accurate. Even when it wasn't about my visions, usually thought I was a hand above everyone else. It was subconscious, and I fought it down when I could, but it always wormed its way back to the top - _I'm special, therefore, I'm better. _Carlisle called it human nature.

Edward didn't answer.

_"Are you still there, Edward?_" Rosalie questioned, her voice so unsure I was almost convinced she was informing him of Bella's pseudo-death again. Rosalie was never unsure, especially when what she was doing was wrong.

Edward still didn't answer, but I was sure he was still there.

I searched for Edward's future of the same moment, so I could watch his perspective. Oftentimes, when I did this, it was hard to get the two in sync with each other, so the soundtrack played the same. It was also much harder to watch two things at once, but I decided in this case it would be much more efficient.

His face came into view in one half of my brain, while Rosalie's disgustingly beautiful one still dominated the other half. He looked awful. I didn't know if it was possible for the bags under his eyes to deepen, but they had. And it looked like he had lost weight, but I knew that too was impossible. His eyes were tortured, but for the first time in a long while they weren't empty, but filled with a black anger. Directed toward me.

I gulped. I had forgotten how intimidating, how almost _scary_ Edward could be when he was angry.

_"Edward? Don't you even care why Alice is there?"_

She sounded just like a tattle-tale did when the person they were speaking to didn't respond with the proper enthusiasm. _But Mommy, don't you want to know how _many_ cookies Timmy took from the plate? Half of them! And they were for your book group, too!_

_"Not particularly"._ He spat out the words, inflectionless.

Well, of course he didn't. He didn't care about anything much, besides Bella, of course. And all that would matter to him was that I had gone. He didn't want to stop to listen to explanations or reasons.

But of course Rosalie told him anyway, as gossips do. "_Well, of course, she's not exactly breaking the rules. You only warned us to stay away from Bella. The rest of Forks doesn't matter."_

Oh, God. She _was_ telling him about Bella's death.

How could she? And, a better question, why hadn't Jasper told them all? He had been at home, why hadn't he?

_"So you don't need to be mad at Alice_," Rosalie said, and I felt shock that mirrored what I saw in Edward's eyes in my dual visions.

If she wasn't calling just to get me in trouble, what was her motive, then?

_"Then why did you call me, Rosalie, if not to get Alice in trouble? Why are you bothering me?_" A sound of disgust registered in his voice. I looked forward to Rosalie's response just as much as Edward did.

_Wait! That's not why I called,_ she said quickly.

_"Then tell me quickly and _leave me alone"_,_ Edward said wearily. The anger in his eyes was already fading. He just didn't care enough to be interested in anything for any period of time.

_"Well_," she said, hesitating. Edward made an impatient gesture with the phone in his hand. The phone's sides started to cave in a little in his grip.

"_Spit it out. You have ten seconds,_" Edward said darkly, sick of the whole conversation.

I leaned forward involuntarily.

_"I think you should come home," _Rosalie said quickly, desperate to take the conversation to its end. "_I'm tired of Esme grieving and Carlisle never laughing. You should be ashamed at what you've done to them. Emmett misses you all the time and it's getting on my nerves. You have a family. Now grow up and think about someone besides yourself."_

Her advice, none-too-kindly given, reeked of hypocrisy. Was she not listening to herself? _I'm tired…it's annoying…_ Was she trying to sympathize with Esme, cheer up Emmett? No, she was complaining about how her _husband's_ grief was _annoying_.

And another thing. Was this truly Rosalie's only reason for calling? To beg Edward to come home. I hadn't known she had wanted him to come home badly enough to call him. Even though I was angry beyond belief at her, I still felt just a bit guilty. We were, after all, a family. Families helped each other. I - all of us - had let Rosalie down.

Or was this only a prelude to her other news? Trying to convince him to come home before telling him what had happened. Maybe, if he said yes, which of course wouldn't happen, she wouldn't tell him what she thought she knew. She'd wait for him to come, so she could tell him in person. In which case I would be there to tell them what I knew.

Or…maybe Jasper really _had_ told them all, and she was only using Bella's would-be death to lure back to his family.

It was all so confusing. It wasn't helped by the fact that Rosalie's decisions were backed by motives that could only be guessed at.

_"Interesting advice, Rosalie," _Edward said, his thinking once again among the same lines as my own. _Let me tell you a little story about a pot and a kettle…_

_"I _am_ thinking about them, unlike you," _Rosalie said sharply. And she was, in a way. I could see where she was coming from, but it was overshadowed by her selfishness. _"Don't you care how much you've hurt Esme, if no one else? She loves you more than the rest of us, and you know that. Come home." _

She waited for Edward to respond, but when he didn't, she pressed on. _"I thought once this whole Forks thing was finished, you would get over it._"

If Edward had even been considering coming back, she had just ruined it with her callous words. She knew as well as I did that Forks itself had nothing to do with anything.

_"Forks was never the problem, Rosalie. Just because Bella has moved to Florida, it doesn't mean that I - look, Rosalie, I really am sorry, but trust me, it wouldn't make anyone any happier if I was there."_

Rosalie looked uncomfortable. Edward looked exhausted.

It was an interesting conclusion for Edward to come to. Maybe he was under such delusions about Bella's safety he was unable to think of anything other than a move that would separate her from Forks.

Rosalie shifted her weight, backwards and forward. _"Um…"_

_"What is it you're not telling me, Rosalie? Is Esme all right? Is Carlisle-"_

_"They're fine. It's just, well, I didn't say Bella had moved."_

I had to hand it to Edward. Even in his subdued, depressed state, he was still remarkably selfless, whatever he said.

I could almost see the gears in his head turning, rewinding to the exact words she had used. He was coming up with nothing…

Rosalie didn't wait for him to come up with some other ludicrous theory, and I wanted to close my eyes in horror at what she was about to say, but of course they were already closed and even that wouldn't chase away the nightmare inside my head…

_"They didn't want to tell you, but I think that's stupid. The quicker you get over this, the sooner things can go back to normal .Why let you mope around the dark corners of the world when there's no need for it. You can come home now. We can be a family again. It's over."_

I could see him, trying to work out what she was meaning. It was intensely hard for him. Something clicked, and his mouth made a sharp _o_ of horror. Or maybe he had just finally realized that Bella was not okay. Maybe he just wasn't able to comprehend this horrific eventuality.

My latter theory was proved correct when Rosalie said his name and he said, _"I don't understand what you are saying, Rosalie._"

She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the heart she was about to break.

_"She's dead, Edward. I'm sorry. I think you have a right to know, though. Bella…threw herself off a cliff two days ago. Alice saw it, but it was too late to do anything.I think she would have helped, though, broken her word if there had been time. She went back to do what she could for know how she's always cared for him. And I really am sorry, Edward, but…Edward?"_

It took her a second to realize he had disconnected.

She hung up the phone slowly, pulling on a chunk of her hair, lips pursed, looking almost sad for a moment. I backed myself out of the vision with disgust and focused my whole self on Edward.

He stared at nothing for a long moment, his eyes worse than I had ever seen them before. It made my heart ache just to look at him.

After a long time, he pulled the phone out of his pocket again and dialed a number slowly.

The phone rang inside the house.

What was he doing? I bolted for the door, jumping back to the present for maximum speed.

The word _Wait!_ was on my lips as I burst through the door, vaulting myself back into my mind to make sure he was still there - but it was too late. Edward had gone. I saw him holding the phone in his hand, looking at it as if he had never seen anything like it before, like he was unsure what to do with it.

I whipped out my phone, called his phone.

No answer.

I called again, desperate. He _had _to pick up, he _had_ to.

Nothing. Of course not. His phone was off.

My vision of him was faulty, erratic now. Flickers of this, flickers of that, but nothing definite. I tried, so hard to get something, but there was nothing to see. He hadn't decided. Not until, a minute or two later…

No. No, he couldn't.

_"I want to die."_

No, no, no.

The Volturi. How could he?

_"Please, just kill me. Please."_

And then the vision went blank.

**TSTSGRP. **

**There. Figure out what it stands for and you win a tube of toothpaste.**

**Also - sorry about the chapter name. I asked my little brother what I should call it and that's what he came up with.**


	12. Decision

_And finally we have it: Chapter the Thirteenth! Without further ado, and with many, many thanks to TheSingingGirl, as always..._

As I stood there in stunned shock, Jacob caught my scent. It had taken him long enough.

"Bye, Bells," he said hastily, before sprinting toward the front door.

A vision burst unbidden into my mind: myself, holding my phone, waiting impatiently while it rang. Then a male voice, answering, his voice deep and definitely not Edward's. "_Olá!"_

"_Quem é este_?"

I answered in the vision, speaking his same language. "_De onde você começ este telefone_?"

"_Um balde do lixo_!"

The voice spoke desperately, and I hung up.

So Edward had gotten rid of his phone.

I couldn't let Jacob leave. I had to talk to him; he was the only one who'd spoken to Edward. Until his future solidified, Jacob was the only connection I had with him.

I sprinted into the house, nearly taking the screen door off its hinges. I was faster than Jacob.

As I entered the hall, Jacob spun around, trying to put Bella behind him. As if he could protect her. Really, she should be behind _me_. I could see his hands vibrating from here.

Being the uncoordinated klutz he was, he knocked Bella over, sending her tumbling her towards the stairs. "Shoot, ow!" she complained as she tried to pick herself up.

The dog's antics didn't interest me now.

Jacob tried to dash past me toward the back door; I thought about putting out my arm to stop him. He'd probably bounce right off and smash into the door, but I let him go. I'd hunt him down later. Right now, it was more important that Bella know what I'd just seen.

Bella clambered back up as quickly as she could and stumbled to my side. "Alice, what's wrong?" she choked, putting her hands on my face. She only succeeded in distracting me with her scent, laced with the almond lotion she'd used.

I tried desperately to look to the future again, but it was still whirring agitatedly; there was nothing definite.

Bella was waiting for an answer, he face growing more panicked by the second. I had to tell her something, but I knew nothing for sure. I had learned my lesson from last time - no more guessing.

"Edward." That seemed to sum up everything I knew quite nicely. I hoped my tone conveyed that Edward had not decided to do something good. While my mind was in full panic mode, every thought centered around how I could save Edward, Bella was human. And no matter what Edward said, she wasn't as perceptive as the vampires I was used to living with.

And Bella collapsed. I caught her instinctively, and her eyes rolled back in her head a little. I hadn't even told her what happened yet, but maybe my tone had been more easily _Bella?_ I wanted to exclaim, to push her back from the brink of consciousness, but before I could a long, lean, tanned body was at my side, vibrating madly.

My teeth clenched as Jacob started cussing me out. At least, that was who I assumed his swear words were directed to. Maybe he swore just because he could, because he was frustrated with the situation, and I couldn't help but remember that Edward hated unnecessary swearing.

Jacob tried to wrench her out of my arms, and I was so preoccupied - still scanning the future - that I let him. It was lucky for Jacob, because obviously he hadn't realized that if I had instinctively held her tighter to keep her from him, she would be dead right now. And he said he wasn't dangerous to Bella.

He darted to the couch, laying Bella down on it.

"What did you do to her?" he spat at me. Like he hadn't heard what I had just said. _Oh yeah, haven't you heard, dog? We vampires can make people collapse with our minds. It's pretty common._

I didn't dignify his stupid question with a response, instead turning to Bella. "Bella? Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry."

I wanted to collapse too—this was my brother!—but we had no time for overdramatic reactions. Not if we wanted to do anything for Edward.

The double standard of that thought was apparent; was Edward's reaction not overdramatic as well? Though Bella didn't yet understand what was going on. She had no idea why she should be panicked, which made it all the worse.

"Stay back," the ignorant dog interjected. I glanced up at his face, dark and angry. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely clench them into fists.

What a hypocritical idiot, speaking to me as if I were the danger.

"Calm down, Jacob Black," I ordered him formally. To sink to such a level of familiarity as to call him by his first name! Now that would be insulting.

"I don't think I'll have any problem keeping my focus," he answered cockily, which was so ridiculous I almost laughed. His body gave away his lie.

I vaulted back into the future: blurs of colour, Edward's face, Volterra.

"Alice?" Bella asked, looking up at me from her spot on the couch, reminding me she was there. "What happened?" She sounded so weak I pitied her.

"I don't know! What is he thinking?!" I mewled, silently begging the visions to clear. I knew what he would ask the Volturi in the end, but there were key parts missing – how, where, when, would he call here first? Surely he would; he wouldn't _really_ go on the word of Rosalie alone, would he? Without going directly to the source?

Panting, Bella tried to pull herself up from her awkward position lying down. I ignored her, frantically rooting around for my phone in my bag on the stair. A call to Carlisle first, then to Rosalie, then, if Carlisle couldn't tell me what to do, I'd think up something myself. I found the phone, at the very bottom of course, and dialed his cell. A quarter of a second after his answering machine kicked in, I hung up and dialed Rosalie's cell. So I was on my own coming up with a plan, then. But Rosalie would tell me where to find him, and I could get some answers out of her as well. Like what exactly she was playing at with her phone call.

"Hello?"

"Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle _now._" _Please, please, don't ask questions. _I begged her. But of course, being Rosalie, she had to waste time:

"Oh, Alice! Carlisle's hunting. What-?"

I cut her off before her question was fully formed. "Fine, as soon as he's back." Though even that would probably be too late…I would be flying over the Atlantic Ocean by that point. A course of action was slowly making itself apparent.

"What is it? I'll track him down right away and have him call you-"

Again, I cut her off. _You know damn well what it is, Rosalie. Don't play the fool with me. _"No, I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard everything from Edward?"

I thought she would realize that I already knew exactly what she had done, that I meant had she heard anything _more_ from Edward, after she'd destroyed him. I heard her breath catch, but her voice was still so smug when she replied, "Well, yes, Alice. Actually. I did talk to Edward. Just a few minutes ago."

She paused. I seethed.

"You and Carlisle were wrong. Edward wouldn't appreciate being lied to. He'd want the truth. He did want. So I gave it to him. I called him…I called him a lot. Until he picked up. A message would have been…wrong."

Did she truly want me to believe she had only done this for Edward's sense of independence? There was more to it than that, I was sure.

I would have beenamused at her ironic statement that a message would have been wrong. It was like a serial killer saying killing a pregnant woman was wrong. It was, of course, but that the wrongdoer would differentiate between certain levels of immorality... Though of course, Rosalie didn't believe her actions were wrong, so it was a _bit _different.

"_Why_? Why would you do that, Rosalie?" I tried to search for the hidden motive I was sure was there. I knew my sister.

She was silent, and she sounded almost remorseful when she spoke again. "Because the sooner he gets over this, the sooner things go back to normal. It wouldn't have gotten easier with time, so why put it off? Time isn't going to change anything. Bella is dead. Edward will grieve and then he'll get over it. Better he begins now than later."

And there it was, laid bare: her ulterior motive. _The sooner things go back to normal._

I tried to keep my anger in check. Rosalie, I'd come to realize, far misunderstood her relationship with Emmett. While passionately in love with Emmett, I knew she thought of her humanity as the one thing she'd give anything to regain. She thought she could give up Emmett and still be happy, if she was human. Similarly, she'd assumed Edward could give up Bella and still be happy, because she thought Edward agreed with her that humanity should be preserved at all costs. But while Edward may believe that, what he _wanted_ was to be with Bella, human or not. Rosalie, who came in a more selfish mold than Edward did – selfishness that wasn't necessarily always a bad thing – didn't realize that what Edward _wanted_ and what he _did_ were two separate things.

What Rosalie didn't realize – and what she therefore didn't realize in Edward and Bella's relationship – was that her love, and Edward's love, would be impossible for them to give up, under any conditions no matter what the reward. Even renewed humanity, in Rose's case, or sustained humanity in Bella's.

Therefore, Rosalie's whole perspective was thrown off by her misjudgment of her relationship with Emmett. She might be right about time bringing normality, but she had no idea what that normality would really be. Time wasn't going to change anything, that was true; Edward would grieve Bella for the rest of his life, never even coming close to getting over it. Which, if things continued as they were going, wouldn't be long at all.

Rosalie had never had to really test her reltationship with Emmett – she'd never known what it was like to almost lose him; because of that, she didn't understand the true depth of what she really felt.

But just because she didn't understand Edward's relationship with Bella didn't make up for what she had done. Edward would die if I didn't do something, and there was no excuse for that.

"Well, you're wrong on both counts, though, Rosalie, so that would be a problem, don't you think?" I asked her acidly.

Shocked silence greeted me as she worked out what I was saying. Then a whisper: "Bella's still alive?"

"Yes, that's right." _Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? _"She's absolutely fine-"

"Fine? You saw her jump off a cliff!" she repeated stubbornly.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "I was _wrong._"

"How?" She sounded deeply incredulous, even disbelieving. It was irritating to hear her so surprised to hear a vision of mine hadn't come true, probably because it hit it home that much harder for me that my visions weren't perfect.

I wanted to snap at her for her ignorance, but carefully I controlled my voice**.**

"It's a long story." One that I couldn't begin to explain now, especially given the werewolves.

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line and I waited.

I couldn't believe it when she started to speak. "Well, you've made quite a mess. Edward is going to be furious when he comes home."

It was here that it took all my self-control not to clench my hand into a fist, crushing the phone; to simply speak through my teeth rather than yell at her.

_She doesn't understand_, I tried desperately to tell myself. _She doesn't know what she's done. And you _know_ she doesn't really feel that way; she's just too proud to apologize, and you know it…_

"But you're wrong about that part, too. That's why I'm calling-" I started, trying very hard to stay patient.

She cut me off, her voice high with hysteria, the mocking tone she tried to take on not enough to hide the panic. "Wrong about what? Edward coming home?" she questioned derisively with a shrill laugh. "Of course he will. What? You think he's going to pull a Romeo? Ha! "

_Ah, but you've hit the nail on the head, Rosalie,_ I thought to myself., trying to suppress my anger once more at her tone. Suggesting that an impending suicide was laughable, ludicrous…_she doesn't know! _My mind screamed at me. _She has no idea!_

Rosalie prattled on, completely ignorant to my seething silence. "Like some stupid, romantic-"

"Yes, that's exactly what I saw." A stupid, romantic boy, too melodramatic for his own good, with a sister selfish enough to spread lies to get what she wanted.

Another silence, and I could almost sense her horror. Then: "No. He's not that stupid. He – he must realize that – I didn't mean it like that, Alice! I just wanted him to come home!"

While she was probably telling the truth, she still wasn't sorry for what she'd done. She was shaken over the _effect_, not the _cause_, and I knew if she had a chance to do it again – except this time with the assurance Edward wouldn't attempt suicide – she'd do it again, without any hesitation.

If only she was sorry for what she'd _done_ instead of what she'd _caused_, I may have been nicer in my last reply. "It's a bit late for that Rose," I spat. "Save your remorse for someone who believes it."

And I disconnected the phone, turning to Bella in the same instant.

Now what?

It all seemed terribly hopeless in that moment. Edward was probably already on a plane. He wasn't going to answer his phone. There was no way to reach him. We were going to lose my brother for a lie, and there was nothing any of us could do about it. I braced myself to tell Bella, but she beat me to it.

"Alice! Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before…"

Before I came in? No…_Edward_ had called, but not Carlisle. Unless there'd been another call I missed, too busy desperately trying to reach Edward…I tried not to hope, but it exploded in my heart anyway. Surely Carlisle would have an answer. He always did.

"When?"

"Half a minute before you showed up."

"What did he say?" I asked carefully, enunciating every syllable with precision. _Please, please_…Please let him already know what Rosalie had done, and please let him have an answer. Maybe he'd already called Edward, and he knew that it was untrue already, and Rosalie had lied yet again…

"I didn't talk to him," Bella admitted, shrinking back, her gaze flitting towards Jacob.

I turned to him impatiently. He flinched. What did he think I was going to do? Strangle him with my thoughts alone, like some kind of vampiric Darth Vader?

"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here," Jacob said sullenly.

"Is that everything?" I doubted it.

He shook his head, but then Bella pitched in: "You told him Charlie was at the funeral," she said.

Fresh buds of horror blossomed in the pit of my stomach. "What were his exact words?" I asked Bella, since obviously Jacob was an unreliable source.

"He said, 'He's not here', and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said 'At the funeral.'"

And Rosalie's lie had been confirmed, just like that. No, no, no…I dropped to my knees hopelessly.

"Tell me, Alice," Bella whispered roughly, dread filling her voice.

Carlisle hadn't called. Of course he hadn't. And of course Edward wouldn't identify himself as himself. And of course Jacob wouldn't recognize the difference, though Bella certainly would. "That wasn't Carlisle on the phone," I said hollowly.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

I ignored the dog's idiotic question.

"It was Edward. He thinks you're dead," I said slowly, deliberately to Bella.

Bizzarrely, her face relaxed, wrinkles smoothing out. "Rosalie told him I killed myself, didn't she?"

Said that way, my anger flooded back. "Yes." I didn't want to say anymore, but she needed to know the truth. "In her defense, she did believe it," I added because I knew I needed to. I didn't want to add to the difficulties they had in getting along.

"They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realize…or care-" _What this would do to him? _I wanted to finish. But I'd forgotten: Bella was still under the impression Edward didn't love her, and not only had I promised not to get myself into explaining that, we had absolutely no time.

"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant _my_ funeral," Bella said, filling in the blanks. Jacob looked almost pleased with himself, for which I wanted to kill him.

Bella looked almost happy. Did she not understand what I was telling her? I would have thought tears, screams, even. Did she not realize Edward was about to _die?_

"You're not upset," I said incredulously.

"Well, it's really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him…what…really…"

She trailed off. _She doesn't know_! Why was this always the excuse people had? I wished Edward was here – he always knew as much about a situation as I did, and usually more. I'd forgotten how irritating it was explaining everything when everyone else was a step behind; usually Edward, being the know-it-all, explained it all for me.

But Edward was not here, and if I did nothing, never would be again.

"Bella. Edward won't call again. He believed her." I tried to speak slowly enough for her to understand.

She still didn't get it, I could see that, but she knew something was wrong. Very wrong. "I. Don't. Understand," she mouthed, trying in vain to keep the panic out of her face.

"He's going to Italy," I started, about to add _Where the Volturi live – did Edward tell you about them? _But I saw almost immediately she knew exactly what the Volturi were and what Edward was doing there. Her face changed from panic to blank puzzlement to raw pain and then to anger as she reacted the same way I did, only verbally. "NO!" she screamed."No! No, no, no! He can't do that!"

_Ah, but he can, and he is_. "He made up his mind as soon as your _friend_ confirmed that it was too late to save you." _Idiot,_ I thought, glaring at Jacob. He met my gaze stubbornly, looking almost pleased with himself.

"But he…he left!" she cried, still in denial. Her face still twisted when she said _left_. It still hurt her to say. "He didn't want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!"

For an instant, I wondered how she could have ever believed his stupid, stupid lie.

"I don't think he ever planned to outlive you by long," I said, and braced myself for the confused question _t_hat was sure to follow.

Thankfully, she hadn't even listened to what I'd said. "How _dare_ he!"

She rose, and Jacob rose with her. Was he still trying to be her protector? Was he really that thickheaded? Bella seemed to agree with me, and gave him an elbow to his gut while she pushed past him.

"Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!" she snapped."What do we do?" she asked me. "Can't we call him? Can Carlisle?"

"That was the first thing I tried." Or going to try, anyway. It had been my future until I saw what it would get me: Absolutely nothing. " He left his phone in a trash can in Rio – someone answered it…"

She shook her head, her eyebrows bunching together. "You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let's do it, whatever it is!" she said.

I had said that because there was only one option, albeit a stupid one. An option that Jasper would kill me for considering. But it was our only option at this point, and I could not lose my brother like that.

We had to go to Volterra and save Edward ourselves.

* * *

_Portugese translations (I hope):  
__Quem é este - Who is this?  
__De onde você começ este telefone - Where did you get this phone?  
__Um balde do lixo - In a trash can_

_If any of those are wrong, someone should tell me and I'll change it. Thanks for reading and please review!  
Oh, and by the way - do you like my new italics and line rather than bold? I do. I think it's pretty.__  
_


	13. Convinced

For a moment, a brief moment, I hesitated. _I_ would go to Volterra in a heartbeat. Edward was my brother, the person I loved most in the world besides Jasper. We'd known each other for sixty years, and I knew he'd give almost anything to save me if I was in danger. He knew I'd do the same for him.

But – for all I could see that she had barely begun to heal from Edward's harsh goodbye six months ago – she might not want to save him the way I did. For me to begin making plans that included her, and assume that she would want to throw herself headlong into this situation that would probably end with both of us dying –that might push her into putting her life at stake when she didn't want to.

"Bella, I – I don't think I can ask you to…" I said in a halfhearted attempt to talk her out of it. Edward would be as good as dead if Bella didn't come – he'd never believe me if I told him she was alive. But Bella needed to know the danger – and not just _know_ it, but _understand_ it – something Edward had never been able to make her do in the past.

Sure enough, ignoring my warning, she demanded, "Ask me!"

I tried to control myself, to speak at a pace she could understand, to not grip her shoulders too tightly, to keep my voice calm and rational, like I knew exactly what was going to happen. "We may already be too late," I told her. She _would_ understand before she agreed to help me. "I saw him going to the Volturi and asking…" I paused, not knowing how this would affect her and not wanting to say the words myself. To see it in visions, which I knew all too well weren't guaranteed to come true, and to say out loud were two completely different things."To die," I finally finished. Hadn't I promised myself that I would be straight with her about the dangers? Shouldn't I be straight with the story, too?

Her eyes filled with tears. It frustrated me; another errant human emotion! We had no time. Didn't she think I wanted to break down, too? It just wasn't an option at the moment. I pressed on: "But if they say no, and they might – Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him – Edward has a backup plan." Several dozen backup plans, actually. Even now, they continued to flash, blurred and quickly blending into each other as Edward's mind spun a million miles an hour. "They're very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's – right." I wondered if she caught the slight hesitation. Of course Edward was right – wasn't he always? Except, of course, in the one way that mattered most to him – Bella. He was always wrong about Bella – about his feelings toward her, about how he should act upon those feelings, abIf out how she felt about him. "They will."

The deadliness of the Volturi was nothing to be sneezed at. When aggravated, they acted quickly and cleanly, leaving no trace of their presence. Jasper could attest to that, having watched from afar as his home for fifty years was purged of our kind.

Bella looked almost bored, standing still with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I supposed she couldn't understand the danger yet – she didn't know the Volturi, didn't know what they represented and how cruelly fair they were. Hell, did she even know what they _were_? I had no time to explain now, but I made a mental note to be sure on the plane. _If_ she decided to go on the plane, of course, I reminded myself.

"So if they agree to grant his favor," I pressed, "We're too late." Edward would be dead, and there was nothing any of us could to do stop it. "If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies…we might have time."

Given what I'd been seeing, the odds weren't good. I had a nasty suspicion the Volturi would hear his plea, look at each other and shrug. _Well, why not?_ _t_hey'd say. They had no love for us, the Cullens. One less member of the eccentric family that was larger than they should be would have to appeal to them.

But if they said no – then I believed we'd have a fighting chance. Edward read too much; he'd read too many overly romanticized tales of lovers stripped apart. Knowing him, he'd probably think up something dramatic enough to become the basis for an opera.

"Let's go!" Bella practically shouted, still showing no fear at all. Behind her, the werewolf I'd all but forgotten about for a few precious seconds looked up and glared at her behind her back. His eyes were steely in anger, but far more in hurt.

He was _upset_ that Bella wanted to save her – currently, but hopefully not for too much longer – ex-boyfriend. It was somewhat warranted, I supposed. From what I'd seen, Bella hadn't exactly been pushing away his attentions. But still, what had he expected? Any fool could see she wasn't over my brother, that she still loved him fiercely.

I shook my head slightly, looking back towards Bella, whose tears had left her eyes red even as she glared at me. _Focus, Alice_. The complicated relationship she had with Jacob was none of my concern. She would have to deal with it – _after_ she listened to me about the dangers of this all-too-likely suicide mission.

"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much but also smells too good. There's a very good chance that they will eliminate us all – though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime."

Even that wasn't as direct as what I should probably have said to her: _Bella, if the Volturi learn of your existence, you'll die._ They didn't give second chances. Most of the time, they didn't even give warnings. Bella was a human who knew of the vampire world. In the Volturi's books – especially Caius', from what I'd heard of him – that meant death. No exceptions. I knew I was being horribly selfish. I loved Bella, really I did, but how could she compare to Edward? I wanted her to truly understand the danger, but there was a small part of me relying on those selfless, stupid tendencies of hers to save him. Even if that put her life at risk. A part that was hoping that, despite the real effort I was making to show her the danger, she wouldn't listen to me.

Bella didn't react at all like she should. She didn't pause and say, _You mean, in all possibility I'll die?_ Instead, she shook her head, disgusted. "This is what's keeping us here? I'll go alone if you're afraid."

Afraid? Of course I was afraid, not just of dying, but of being entirely responsible for her death, because I was being selfish. Of course, if Bella died I wouldn't have much time to wallow in despair, as I would in all likelihood die too. I wanted to shake her, to say, _Bella, I do want you to come. I think you're an absolutely necessary part of saving Edward. But I just want you to understand what you're getting yourself into._

What I wanted her to say was, _Alice, I understand the danger, but I still want to try and save Edward_. Her disbelief that danger was what I was worried about made me think she didn't even _understand_ the danger.

I didn't say any of that. We had no time. I'd tried to inform Bella, and whether she was simply being unbelievably dim or she had adopted the it-can't-happen-to-me mindset, she wanted to come.

So I ignored the jab she'd punched at me – that I was afraid – and lied calmly, "I'm only afraid of you getting killed."

"I almost get myself killed on a daily basis!" she insisted. I wanted to roll my eyes. If she thought the danger was equivalent to falling off her motorcycle or other "near-death" experiences, she was sorely mistaken.

Instead, I shrugged. She was coming. I couldn't talk her out of it, and I didn't want to.

"Write a note to Charlie," I said. "I'll call the airlines." I almost added, _And work things out with your werewolf_, but decided I wasn't getting into that mess.

Instead of immediately disappearing into the kitchen, like I'd hoped, she stopped short, her face paling yet again. "Charlie!"

_What, you'd forgotten about your own father?_ I wanted to ask sarcastically as I whipped out my phone, dialing the number for SeaTac that I'd used a few days ago to get from Denali to Forks, and going through the necessary steps to be connected to the airline I needed this time around.

Had humans gotten slower since I'd last had any real interaction with them, or was Bella just frustratingly slow tonight?

"Hi, and welcome to Air Italy," a computerized voice told me through the phone. "A customer service representative will be with you shortly. Please hold."

A tinny rendition of _Greensleeves_ began, just exacerbating my frustration. I was about to snap at Bella, _When you said you'd come, I assumed you'd thought about your father. I assumed you realized that you might not come back, that Charlie will not know how you died, and that you won't be able to say goodbye. That's why I _tried _to inform you of what this rescue mission entails._ But before I could, Jacob burst in.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Charlie. Screw the treaty." He glared at me as he said this, as if expecting me to argue. Like I cared what they did when we weren't around.

Bella hesitated. What the hell was she waiting for? She knew the hurry we were in. Charlie would be fine – even I had to admit that a werewolf could look after a single human.

"Hurry, Bella," I reminded her impatiently, and she dashed into the kitchen. I could hear her throwing the contents of the drawers around for pen and paper as finally, finally, someone picked up at Air Italy.

Soon enough, the flight was in order – our flight left in five hours. We'd have to leave in the next ten minutes if we wanted to get to SeaTac in time – and that was if the traffic was good getting into the city.

The bag I'd brought was still in the hall where I'd deposited it after arriving. I thought about calling Carlisle to tell him of our plans while waiting for Bella, but decided that I could do that on the plane.

My passport was still at our house outside of town – I hadn't bothered to bring it with us because I hadn't thought I'd need it.

I was about to call out to Bella and ask where her passport was, but she appeared in the doorway, looking determined, with Jacob following right after her. I'd heard but tried to ignore their exchange in the kitchen, but it was fairly obvious that Bella hadn't done much of anything to reassure Jacob.

"Get your wallet – you'll need ID," I instructed. "And _please_ tell me you have a passport. I don't have time to forge one."

Though I wasn't particularly knowledgeable on Italian-US relations, I saw no reason why Customs would be looking at our passport so carefully that a forgery from me – hardly more than an amateur – would stand up, but of course that took time. Time we didn't have. Since we had to stop by our house anyway, to pick up _my_ passport, I could pick up my laptop and the necessary paper for a forgery - we kept them in the house in case we needed to make an unplanned getaway – and I could try to do one on the airplane. It would be of poor quality, but if we had time to spare before catching the flight, I could get some money out of the ATM and try to bribe our way in…

Bella stopped my copious planning by nodding. I sighed with relief.

I sent Jasper a quick text – _will call u in a few hours with update. Love u._ – as Bella packed.

When I sent it, I looked up to see Jacob glaring at me, arms folded and quivering. I opened the door. "I'm waiting in the car," I told him.

I wanted him to be a messenger and tell that to Bella when she came down the stairs, but instead he snorted. "What, are you afraid of me?"

"No, dog, I just want to leave as soon as possible," I said through my teeth.

"So you can take her to her death?"

"She _chose_ to go," I reminded him. I wanted to leave it at that, but my temper got the best of me, and I added, "Not that I would choose differently – I'm sure she'd rather be anywhere else than with a _dog._"

His quivering doubled. "At least she's safe with me. She doesn't have to worry about getting her _blood_ sucked every second of the day."

"Oh, she's _safe_ with you?" I asked. "I'm sorry, I thought that when you started to shake like you're doing now, you were so angry that you were about to explode into a werewolf at any second. Whereas, us – have we hurt her?" I raised my eyebrow at him, trying not to think of Jasper. Did Jacob know about that? I couldn't imagine Bella telling him. Besides, he hadn't hurt her. She'd given herself a paper cut, and then been knocked into a glass table – but the point was, our _thirst_ hadn't directly hurt Bella.

A door slammed upstairs. Bella appeared on the top of the stairs, looking down on us angrily when she saw we were fighting.

Jacob looked cowed. "Fine. You may control yourself _on occasion_, but these leeches you're taking her to-"

I sighed and cut him off. "Yes, you're right, dog. The Volturi are the very essence of our kind – they're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I'm not unaware of that." He acted like I hadn't just spent valuable time explaining this to Bella.

"And you take her to them like a bottle of wine for a party!" he yelled, disgusted.

_She chose to come!_ I wanted to scream at him, but I knew he'd just conveniently ignore that part. "You think she'd be better off if I left her alone, with Victoria stalking her?" _And you?_

"We can handle the redhead_," _Jacob said confidently.

Oh, yeah? "Then why is she still hunting?" I demanded, exasperating lacing my tone.

He didn't answer me. His pupils dilated and a huge tremor ripped through his chest. I was sure he was about to transform. I was about to yell for Bella to stay back, but he shook his head, and his eyes returned to normal. He sent me a look, as if to say, _See? I can control myself._

Bella jumped down the last few stairs, coming to rest in between us. "Stop that!" she yelled at Jacob, a few seconds too late, not realizing he'd already regained control of himself. "Argue when we get back, let's go!"

I sent Jacob one final glare and headed toward the car. I could hear him begging her to stay as I reached the car.

I did feel bad for him, a little. It seemed like Bella had been leading him on, and for her disappear after her ex – the one person he'd been trying to make her forget – I would be furious, too. I didn't understand messy human relationships like love triangles very well, as Jasper was the only man I'd had even the remotest inclination for, but I'd read my share of silly romance novels and classics alike to guess a human's motivations or reactions towards various situations. If only Jacob weren't so arrogant, oozing confidence and bristling with anger whenever Bella even mentioned a vampire! I didn't have the time or inclination to feel sorry for him now.

Bella opened the passenger door a minute later. Jacob disappeared out the front door, slamming it behind him and making the glass window rattle. Bella slammed the door as he streaked off into the woods, changing from a human to a loping wolf as he went. I bristled instinctively at the sight, but ignored him.

Bella cranked down her window and screamed, "Take care of Charlie!" Her eyes scanned the street, but she couldn't find Jacob; he was already gone.

I floored the gas pedal, zipping along the street away from the wolf.

When we turned into the drive for our house, I heard Bella's intake of breath. I looked over at her; her face was blanched. "What's wrong?"

"Why…why are we coming here?" she asked, all her fire from earlier gone.

"Because I need to get _my_ passport," I said as I parked in the driveway. "Wait here. I'll be back in two seconds."

I slipped out of the door and into the house, dashing up the stairs to Jasper's and my room, opening the correct dresser drawer and feeling underneath my underwear. We had left this house in such a hurry; almost everything I owned was still here. If I'd had time to indulge in such emotions, I would have said it was slightly creepy. Then I slipped back out the front door, leaving it unlocked. I had a feeling that the others would be back here very soon. If we survived, we'd move back in. If we didn't, they'd be emptying the house for good and moving on.

I slid back into the driver's seat and started the engine. I glanced over at Bella. Her arm had snaked, almost automatically, to cover her stomach.

"What's wrong?" I asked again, zooming out of the driveway.

Bella smiled emptily. "I'm sorry," she said, rubbing at her eyes. "It's just..you know, I haven't been here…it just brings back memories."

"I'm sorry," I said awkwardly, glad that humans had a blanket response for hardship that I could fall back on when I had nothing to say.

"It's – it's stupid, I know," she said, agitatedly, brushing her hair back from her face and looking away from me.

Stupid? Yes, if you looked at it logically. Hadn't I called her human emotions stupid just a few minutes ago? And yet, I suddenly found myself remembering exactly what Bella had gone through. Her relationship with Edward wasn't just a human, teenage affair. It was true love, just like I had with Jasper, Rose with Emmett, Esme with Carlisle. None of us would survive through losing her partner. Perhaps it was to Bella's credit that she had survived as well as she had. Perhaps I could allow her this type of emotion, since any of us would have acted the same, if not far more "stupidly".

"Are we going to make the flight?" she asked abruptly, changing the subject.

I checked the future for cars coming down the road in the next minute or so – there was nothing. I closed my eyes and tried to find us boarding a plane.

Bella gasped beside me, I guessed at my eyes closing. I ignored her, searching for the right vision.

Finally, I found us, sitting in the terminal. I could see our flight number on the board behind Bella. It still said _On Time – _it hadn't switched yet to _Arrived_. We would get there in plenty of time, it appeared.

I opened my eyes. Bella's face was white, her eyes huge, her heart pounding. "If the future holds, we'll be fine. And just so you know, I knew no cars were going to come," I said reassuringly.

The rest of the ride was in near silence. Bella dozed lightly for about half an hour, then just sat looking out the window. I put on the radio once she woke up. I still didn't have an explanation for the disappearance of the CDs from her room, but I had a pretty good guess. But even if she had stopped listening to music in an attempt to get over Edward, there was no need to get over him anymore, even if she didn't know it yet.

Bella didn't respond when I found an 80s station – although Edward barely tolerated 80s music, I had loved it – and I hummed along to Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson all the way to the airport. Normally, I would have sung, but I didn't want to push her too far. I needed her intact.

Then, an hour out of the airport and two hours from when our flight was to leave, right in the middle of Prince's "1999", on my routine check of the future traffic, I saw that the worst possible thing had happened.

A car – it looked like just a single-car accident – had flipped over, and was laying across two lanes of traffic. The cars were building up behind it.

Well, that was _perfect_. "No!" I gasped. Panic rose up like a wave, but I tried to fight it down. We would still make our flight. We _would_. We had to.

"What?" Bella asked immediately. "Did you see something?"

"Traffic jam. We'll be coming up on it in about twenty minutes."

The minutes passed as we inched along. We were forty minutes away from the airport. Our flight left in an hour and fifteen minutes. Things were getting closer. I looked for us getting through security – the lines looked moderate, not monstrous. Hopefully nothing would change that part of my new vision.

"Are we still going to make it?" Bella asked.

"I really hope so. It'll be close."

I couldn't see us on the plane; the vision just ended once we were past security. Was there some decision I hadn't yet made that would decide whether we would catch the flight? Or was it simply too close to call?

Once we finally got past the accident, we made pretty good time, and we got to the airport with twenty minutes to spare. Luckily, we had no baggage to check in – both our bags would be carry-on – so I got our boarding passes from one of the machines and we headed toward security. Bella was practically trotting to keep up with my fast walk. I grabbed her bag from her so she could walk faster, and to hell with any humans who thought it was odd.

A man got to the line just before we did – and suddenly, the future changed. The man would go through the metal detector, and he would be stopped. He would have to go through the detector twice more before finally being pulled off to the side and waved with one of the security guard's wands. Bella and I would get to the terminal, and find that the passageway to the plane had already been closed.

We would miss our flight.

I tapped the man in front of us on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir, but my friend and I are really running late and so I was wondering if we could possibly cut in front of you?"

The man looked surprised. I smiled hopefully at him. He was a little startled. "Um…of course, ma'am," he said. "I've got an hour to wait anyway." He smiled, and I pulled Bella in front of me as we ducked in front of him.

"What was that for?" Bella whispered as soon as the man's attention was diverted.

"He'll get hung up in security. Just wait," I told her.

Sure enough, after we got through the metal detectors and grabbed our belongings from the plastic trays, the man behind us stepped through and the detector went off.

I smirked. Bella tried not to look impressed.

The last people in the line for our flight were just filing in when we reached the terminal.

We'd made it.

I handed our boarding passes to the woman; she smiled and commented, "That was a close one."

"No kidding," I demurred back, and we boarded the plane.

Bella kept jiggling as the flight attendants began to ready the plane for the flight. When she moved from jiggling to full-on bouncing up and down in her seat, I put a hard hand on her shoulder. "It's faster than running," I told her. Far faster, actually, because running would involve crossing an ocean, and while we could certainly swim as fast as we could run, we would slow down considerably by having to keep Bella's head above water most of the time.

Bella ignored me, nodding slightly as she kept trying to bounce, oblivious to the occasional stare from the stewardess.

Meanwhile, I took out the inflight magazine and started trying to do the crossword in my head. What I really wanted to do was call Jasper, but it would probably take longer to talk to him than the time we had before liftoff, and the flight attendants would certainly tell me to put it away for takeoff. If I cheated a little and used the phone before we reached cruising altitude, they probably wouldn't mind.

After a relatively short amount of time, the plane started to glide toward the runway. I glanced at Bella, hoping she would calm down, but she was bouncing just as hard as ever; such a human thing to do. I ignored her – she'd tire soon enough, and then maybe she'd sleep and I could have a more private conversation with Jasper.

Finally, the plane took off, and we were on our way to Italy.

* * *

_As always, TheSingingGirl was invaluable towards this chapter. Thanks much!_


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